Over 49-kg poppy husk seized at Ludhiana railway station this year, marks 7-fold rise

The recovery of banned pills, including anti-anxiety medication alprazolam, and painkillers like Tramadol and Lomotil, which can only be procured with a proper medical prescription, has shot up from 530 to 9,200

With the seizure of 49.5-kg poppy husk, the recovery this year has increased sevenfold at the Ludhiana railway station, officials said. Last year, 7.14-kg poppy husk had been recovered.

Railway police checking bags of passengers at the Ludhiana railway station on Sunday. (Manish/HT)

The recovery of banned pills, including anti-anxiety medication alprazolam, and painkillers like Tramadol and Lomotil, which can only be procured with a proper medical prescription, has shot up from 530 to 9,200. The seizure of ganja also increased from 24 kg to 34.5 kg this year.

However, opium recovery decreased to 33.3 kg from 59 last year. This year, no recoveries were made for charas against last year’s 22.5 kg recovery. The biggest single recovery was a tranche of 16 kg of opium caught on May 15, which, according to the GRP, was the biggest tranche of opium caught by the department so far. Inspector Palwinder Singh, SHO of the Ludhiana GRP station, said the tranche was coming from Chatra district in Jharkhand. The substance was recovered from 31-year-old Santosh Singh, who also hails from Chatra.

A total of 30 people, including four women, were arrested. In four cases, the drugs were found in bags lying around at the station without any courier. The GRP station registered 28 FIRs under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, in these cases. Last year, the police had filed 31 FIRs under the Act.

“We maintain a constant vigil at the station. Whoever appears suspicious or tries to leave the station through irregular exits is checked, and that is where these recoveries are made. We will continue the vigil and ensure that no courier can smuggle drugs into the state through the station,” he said.

The Ludhiana junction is the first stop in the state after Amritsar in Haryana for a lot of trains coming from Jharkhand, where these drugs come from.