Authorities in the state seized/recovered over 16 kg of charas worth over ₹ 11 crore, from different parts of the state on Monday.
The train was heading to Mumbai from Bihar. The recovery was made during a joint operation by personnel of the Mandal Reserve, Lucknow, and the Crime Intelligence Branch (CIB), Lucknow. The seized contraband was handed over to the Government Railway Police (GRP), Barabanki, for further legal action.
In the first instance, 10.9 kg of charas, with an estimated international market value of ₹ 5.45 crore, was recovered from an unclaimed bag in the general coach of train number 19038 at Barabanki on Monday, railway officials said. The contraband was found in general coach number 255333 of the train, officials said. Meanwhile, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 6.078 kg of Nepal-origin charas, allegedly worth around ₹ 6.07 crore in the illicit drug market, from two women passengers at Gorakhpur railway station in the early hours of Sunday, a release issued by the agency on Monday read. During their personal search, officers recovered 12 packets from them.
A team of DRI officers intercepted the two women travelling on the Jan Nayak Express, which runs from Bihar to Ludhiana in Punjab, the agency said. The packets had allegedly been concealed in knee caps wrapped around their thighs and hidden under their sarees, according to the DRI. The substance tested positive for charas on a field-testing kit, the agency said. The recovered contraband was of Nepalese origin, according to the DRI. The agency said charas extracted from live cannabis plants grown in the Himalayan foothills through manual processing is distinct from hashish, which it described as being prepared from dried cannabis leaves through machine processing.
Because of its potency and characteristics, and consequently commands a high value, the agency said Nepal-origin charas is sought after in illicit drug markets in metropolitan cities and abroad.
