Indian Railways are making sincere efforts to curb drug trafficking through their network and a focused drive i.e. “Operation NARCOS” is undertaken by RPF to take action against trafficking of Drugs via Railways. The Government of India through its notification no.1403 dated 11.04.2019 has authorized officers of Railway Protection Force to arrest, search and seize Narcotics drugs under NDPS Act.
The Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha said that the Narcotics drugs seized and suspects arrested by RPF under NDPS Act are handed over to the LEAs empowered to register the cases & investigate them. For review and coordination among various Central and State Agencies, the Narco Coordination Centre (NCORD) meetings are held periodically.
Railways is one of the modes of trafficking of drugs across the country used by traffickers in illegal trade of Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS).
‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India and, therefore, State Governments are responsible for prevention, detection, registration and investigation of crime and maintenance of law and order on Railways including drug trafficking through their law enforcement agencies viz. Government Railway Police (GRP)/District Police/ Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)/State Excise etc.
During the years 2020, 2021 and 2022 (upto Nov), 4556 cases have been registered under NDPS Act by concerned Law Enforcing Agencies (LEAs) with arrest of 2125 persons and recovery of Narcotics worth ₹66.53 Crores (approx) over Indian Railways.
The areas and routes prone to drug trafficking are dynamic in nature and keep on changing. Based on regular analysis, such vulnerable routes are identified regularly and effective preventive measures taken to control drug trafficking in coordination with all stakeholders.
