Agartala, July 2:
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Thursday seized a consignment of 55,626 bottles of banned codeine-based cough syrup, valued at over ₹6.54 crore, from a goods train at Agartala Railway Station and arrested one person in connection with the case.
Acting on specific intelligence, DRI officials, assisted by the Assam Rifles, Railway Protection Force (RPF) and other security agencies, intercepted the High Capacity Parcel Van of a goods train that had arrived from Katihar in Bihar.
The arrested accused, identified as 34-year-old Subrata Deb, a manager of a private firm in Tripura’s Khowai district, had allegedly arrived at the railway station to take delivery of the consignment.
Reportedly the seized consignment comprised 100-ml bottles of Eskuf Cough Syrup and Fairdyl Cough Syrup, both containing Codeine Phosphate and Triprolidine Hydrochloride. These formulations are widely abused as narcotic substances in India and neighbouring Bangladesh.
A case has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. Investigators are now probing the source of the consignment, its intended recipients and the larger smuggling network behind the operation.
The seizure is the second-largest recovery of illegal codeine-based cough syrup from a goods train in Tripura.
In October 2025, the Tripura Police Crime Branch, with assistance from other security agencies, seized banned Eskuf cough syrup worth around ₹5.4 crore from a goods train at Jirania Railway Station and arrested several persons, including alleged kingpin Rajib Dasgupta.
Security agencies have repeatedly detected narcotics and other contraband being transported through the railway network connecting Tripura with other parts of the country, highlighting its continued use by drug trafficking syndicates.
