Ganja worth Rs 5 lakh seized in Tripura, nine held

The police team launched a search operation at the station on Thursday night when they suspected the accused boarding the Tripura Sundari Express connecting Agartala with New Delhi and recovered the 52 kg of narcotics substance.

Agartala: Nine people hailing from Bihar were arrested in Agartala railway station in Tripura after ganja worth Rs 5 lakh was seized from their possession, police said on Friday.

Acting on a tip-off, a police team searched them on Thursday night when they entered the railway station to catch the Tripura Sundari Express connecting Agartala with New Delhi and recovered the 52 kg of narcotics substance, Agartala GRP (Government Railway Police) station officer-in-charge Sanjit Sen said.

“During the search, ganja was recovered from their bags. All of them were booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. An investigation is underway," Sen said.

During interrogation, the arrested people revealed that the group came from Bihar by Tripura Sundari Express and was planning to return home, the officer said.

“We suspect that an organized gang is active in ganja smuggling from Agartala to Bihar by trains. The police will also check the mobile phone data of all the arrested people to know whether they have connections with the gang," he said.

On Wednesday, another person from Bihar, dressed in Assam Rifles, was arrested with 21 kg of ganja from Agartala railway station.

He was scheduled to take the Kanchanjunga Express, connecting Agartala with Kolkata.