Massive anti-drug operations in Tripura and West Bengal lead to one arrest.
Key Highlights
- DRI seized around 1.11 lakh bottles of Codeine-based cough syrup in two separate operations.
- Raids were conducted in Tripura and West Bengal under the NDPS Act, 1985.
- One person was arrested while attempting to collect the consignment in Agartala.
- The cough syrup bottles were concealed inside sealed iron and metallic drums beneath powder layers.
- Authorities recovered 55,626 bottles in Tripura and 56,225 bottles in West Bengal.
- The operations were intelligence-driven and targeted organised drug trafficking networks.
News Story
New Delhi: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized around 1.11 lakh bottles of Codeine-based cough syrup in two separate anti-smuggling operations conducted in Tripura and West Bengal, dealing a major blow to organised narcotics trafficking networks.
In the first operation on July 2, DRI officers intercepted a consignment being transported in the parcel van of a train headed for Agartala. The bottles were ingeniously hidden inside 80 metallic drums beneath a layer of powdery material used as cover cargo. A total of 55,626 bottles of Codeine-based cough syrup were recovered and seized.
The operation was carried out with assistance from the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Assam Rifles. One individual, who had arrived to take delivery of the consignment, was arrested under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
In a separate operation during the same period, DRI officers searched a warehouse in Dankuni, West Bengal, where they recovered 56,225 bottles of Codeine-based cough syrup concealed inside 104 sealed iron drums. The bottles had been hidden beneath a layer of china clay powder to evade detection.
The entire quantity was seized under the NDPS Act, taking the combined seizure from both operations to approximately 1.11 lakh bottles, with one arrest made.
Officials said Codeine, an opium derivative, has legitimate medical use in regulated pharmaceutical formulations. However, Codeine-based cough syrups are frequently diverted by organised drug trafficking networks due to their potential for abuse.
The DRI said the seizures underscore the evolving concealment techniques used by smuggling syndicates and reaffirmed its commitment to dismantling illegal narcotics supply chains through intelligence-led enforcement operations.
