Agartala, July 2: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Thursday seized 55,626 bottles of banned codeine-based cough syrup worth over ₹6.54 crore from a goods train at Agartala Railway Station and arrested one person in connection with the case. Officials described it as the second-largest seizure of illegal codeine-based cough syrup from a goods train in Tripura.
Acting on specific intelligence inputs, 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. During the operation, officials recovered thousands of bottles of prohibited cough syrup allegedly meant for illegal distribution.
The arrested accused has been identified as Subrata Deb (34), a manager of a private firm based in Tripura’s Khowai district. According to investigators, Deb had allegedly reached Agartala Railway Station to take delivery of the consignment when he was apprehended by the DRI team.
Officials said 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 frequently misused as narcotic substances and have been linked to illegal drug trafficking networks operating 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 origin of the consignment, its intended recipients and the larger interstate and cross-border smuggling network suspected to be behind the operation. Officials are also examining whether the consignment was meant to be trafficked into neighbouring Bangladesh through Tripura.
The seizure underscores the continued use of the railway network connecting Tripura with other parts of the country for transporting narcotics and other contraband. Security agencies have, in recent years, intensified surveillance at railway stations and freight terminals following repeated attempts by drug trafficking syndicates to use rail transport for smuggling.
This is the second major codeine cough syrup haul from a goods train in the state. 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. Several persons, including alleged kingpin Rajib Dasgupta, were arrested in that case.
Officials said investigations in the present case are continuing to identify all those involved in the trafficking network and trace possible interstate and international links.
