SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, June 22: In a joint operation, Dhanbad police, along with Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, arrested two drug peddlers from Bihar at Dhanbad Railway Station on Saturday. The duo was found in possession of 28kg of cannabis, concealed in two Safari trolley bags.
The accused, identified as Sawan Kumar (26) and Shambhu Paswan (25), are residents of Nalanda district in Bihar. According to the police, they were travelling from Angul district in Odisha and were en route to deliver the drugs in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
R.N. Thakur, officer-in-charge of Dhanbad Sadar police station, said the 28kg of cannabis was packed in 28 separate one-kilogram packets. The estimated market value of the seized contraband is around ₹4.2 lakh.
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Acting on a tip-off received by the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a special team was formed under Thakur’s leadership to intercept the suspects arriving on the Bhubaneswar–Dhanbad Special Train (02831). GRP and RPF personnel were also part of the operation.
The team searched the entire train, from the engine to the last coach, but did not find any intended receiver of the drugs. However, they located two suspicious individuals carrying large trolley bags on Platform No. 5. The suspects were taken to the police station for questioning, where they reportedly confessed to transporting the cannabis.
The operation team included Inspectors Sujit Kumar Singh and Lalit Ranjan Bhagat (Sadar Police), Kundan Kumar and Abhash Chandra (RPF), and Kailash Prasad Mahto (GRP).
Further investigations are underway.
