Railway Protection Force crackdown on narcotics smuggling intensified across Northeast

Guwahati: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) continues to demonstrate its commitment towards ensuring the safety and security of railway passengers and property, officials said on Sunday. 

NFR's Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said that during October, the RPF troops of NFR apprehended 37 people involved in the smuggling of narcotics items and contraband goods valued at approximately Rs 9.41 crore.

He said that on November 13, the RPF of New Cooch Behar in North Bengal recovered 37.1 kg of unclaimed dry ganja (marijuana) worth Rs 3.71 lakhs at New Cooch Behar railway station.

The recovered items were handed over to the Officer-in-Charge (OC), GRP, New Coochbehar, for taking necessary legal action.

On the same day, joint efforts by RPF and the Government Railway Police (GRP) of Agartala and Lumding recovered 23.61 Kg of ganja worth Rs 2.36 lakh at Agartala and Lumding railway stations.

The recovered items were handed over to the respective OCs of GRP for taking necessary action. Similarly, on November 12, the RPF of Dharmanagar (Tripura), Agartala, and Rangapara North (Assam's Sonitpur district) recovered 50.51 kg of ganja worth Rs 5.05 lakh at Dharmanagar, Agartala and Rangapara North.

The recovered items were handed over to the respective OCs of GRP for necessary action.

The NFR commends the dedicated efforts of RPF personnel across various posts and their effective coordination with GRP and Customs authorities, ensuring the safety of railway premises and curbing illegal activities within its jurisdiction, the officials said.

Meanwhile, in a concerted effort to protect vulnerable passengers and combat human trafficking, the RPF of NFR achieved commendable success by rescuing a large number of minors, including girls, regularly.

The NFR operates in the Northeastern states and in seven districts of West Bengal and five districts of northern Bihar.