Inspection on trains, buses stepped up

‘Operation Visudhi’ to check smuggling of drugs, tobacco products and liquor

Surprise checks in all long-distance trains have been intensified under ‘Operation Visudhi’, a special drive launched jointly by the Excise Department and the Railway Protection Force (RPF). Joint squad members say they are fully equipped to check all suspicious consignments and “abandoned” luggage on trains to stop the smuggling of drug, banned tobacco products and Indian Made Foreign Liquor from various locations.

The squad members have been given instructions to seize all deserted type of luggage, consignments and bags to ensure a flawless operation. Since many of the invisible carriers adopt the trickery of sending such smuggled consignments without any direct carrier, the squads are highly vigilant about such stocks.

At the railway stations, the parcel booking offices will be brought under close surveillance. The booking staff have been asked to alert the RPF or Government Railway Police if they notice any suspicious consignment. Also, the booking authorities have been asked to collect the accurate address and other details of the parcel booking agents.

An Excise Department officer said the drive had been found to be very successful as the squads had already seized about 400 kg of banned tobacco products. This was in addition to the seizure of smuggled IMFL from train, he said.

The official also claimed that similar joint drives conducted during the last festival times too were very successful in tracking such smuggled consignments. He said that the biggest challenge was to identify those behind such drug trafficking by misusing the rail network.

RPF sources said the joint inspection would be helpful to track the suspicious movement of unaccounted money. One of such gangs had been arrested in Kochi with the support of Excise squads, they said. Apart from the intensified vigil on trains, the Excise strike squads are also checking all suspicious inter-district vehicles, including long-distance buses. The squads will coordinate the inspections under the Deputy Excise Commissioner. A district-level helpline too is active to gather confidential information from the public on suspected drug trafficking and smuggling attempts.

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