In a major crackdown on drug trafficking, the Government Railway Police (GRP) in Tripura on Wednesday seized 1,580 bottles of Eskuf cough syrup, a banned pharmaceutical product under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, from the Deogarh Express at Agartala Railway Station. The estimated market value of the contraband is pegged at Rs 7.9 lakh in the illegal drug trade. According to Tapas Das, Officer-in-Charge of Agartala GRP, the seizure was made during a routine inspection conducted by the GRP team after the arrival of Deogarh Express at the station. The banned syrups were discovered in two separate coaches — Coach No. NFR-204751 and General Coach No. NFR-174070 — with the bottles strategically stashed in hidden compartments to avoid detection.
“No one has come forward to claim ownership of the consignment. We have followed all procedures and seized the items under the NDPS Act,” said Das, adding that the cough syrup bottles were found in unlabelled, unattended packages and were likely part of a larger smuggling operation. Eskuf, a cough syrup that contains codeine phosphate, is often misused as a narcotic substance due to its sedative and addictive properties. Although originally intended for medicinal use, the syrup has been banned for sale without proper medical prescription and is frequently trafficked for recreational abuse, especially among the youth.
GRP officials suspect that the consignment was being transported for illegal distribution in the northeastern region, with Agartala serving either as a hub or a transit point. “We have launched a full-fledged investigation to track the source of the consignment and identify those involved in the smuggling network,” the officer added.
