In the past few months, the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Katpadi, have seized at least 70 kg of marijuana from long-distance trains, especially ones originating from Visakhapatnam.
The latest seizure was on Friday, when a special team of the Crime Prevention and Detection Squad of the RPF found 18 kg of marijuana, worth ₹3.60 lakh, in the Visakhapatnam-Kollam Express.
“It is difficult to identify ganja at a stopover junction like Katpadi due to the short time the trains are here. Marijuana is a tightly-packed substance that can hardly be smelled. Our tip-offs should be accurate to make the seizure successful,” said N. Selvakumar, assistant sub-inspector, RPF, Katpadi. He led the team on Friday’s search.
Special police teams were also deployed at emerging transit stations like Ranipet and Gudiyatham, especially after the easing of lockdown restrictions, due to increased footfall and safety of goods trains. Every day, more than 150 trains pass through Katpadi railway junction. RPF sources said most of the contraband seized in recent months, especially marijuana, were from trains originating in Visakhapatnam and heading towards either Tamil Nadu or Kerala.
Easing of the lockdown restrictions, especially movement of trains for commuters, had made it easy for drug peddlers to transport the contraband in trains.
They said Araku Valley, a thickly wooded area in Visakhapatnam, was allegedly the spot where marijuana was grown in the wild. Despite major stations like Tirupati and Renigunta being on the route, the contraband goes mostly unnoticed.
Police said the substance was usually packed tightly in several small packets and sprinkled with perfume to prevent detection.
Unlike Jolarpet, Katpadi railway junction gets trains from Bengaluru, Chennai, Vishakapatanam and Kollam (Kerala) covering all southern States. “With limited manpower, we are doing our best to prevent such contraband from getting into the open market,” a police officer said.