KOZHIKODE: Drugs including ganja arriving through long-distance trains are proving to be another major source for customers in the district. As the Excise department stepped up the raids in collaboration with the Railway Protection Force (RPF), railway police and police department, there were more seizures in the Kozhikode range, they said. In the last three months alone, 10.5 kg of ganja and 125gm of ganja paste were seized from trains, during raids by the Kozhikode range Excise officials.
Most of them were either abandoned in packets in the general compartments or kept in the toilets of long-distance trains. The smugglers were using toilets for storing the ganja packets, for carriers to take once the train reaches its destination. The trend was seen more in the general compartments of long-distance trains, said Excise deputy commissioner P.K. Suresh.
In July, as per the directions of DGP Loknath Behera, the RPF and railway police had consented to joint operations with the Excise, as the cases involving smuggling through trains increased. The RPF decided to form a separate dog squad for the raids. Before this collaboration, there were technical difficulties for the Excise to carry out the raids in trains.
