CHENNAI: A few days after seizing 50 kg tobacco products from Chennai Central, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel on Saturday seized nearly 200 kg of banned tobacco substances from the bustling railway terminus.
According to the RPF officials, senior divisional security commissioner of Chennai division, Louis Amudhan, had formed a special team under RPF inspector V. Mohan to nab the smugglers who use trains to smuggle contraband products into the city.
“We have been keeping track of parcels arriving at Chennai Central. RPF personnel posted at the railway station would watch out for suspicious parcels,” V. Mohan said. On Saturday noon, RPF personnel had noticed 4 bundles lying suspiciously without proper addresses in the parcel office, he said.
The RPF inspector added that the police have waited for someone to pick up the bundles. As no one showed up to claim the bundles, RPF opened the bundles to find 190 kg of banned tobacco (gutka) substances. The RPF also handed over the unclaimed substances to food safety department to destroy them. “According to the food safety officials' estimation, the seized substances would be worth ' 4 lakh,” V. Mohan said.
According to the RPF sources, these substances are being snuggled from North India through lease parcels. “If the parcels are sent by railway booking, proper addresses will be mentioned on the parcels. But lease parcels do not have addresses,” the RPF officials said. Lease parcels are parcels sent by agents who lease a whole wagon, explained the RPF personnel.
