DRI seizes amphetamine worth Rs 1.05 crore in Nagpur, leopard skin recovered in Gondia
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence's Nagpur unit carried out two separate operations within three days, one against drug smuggling and one against wildlife trafficking.
The Nagpur regional unit (Mumbai zone) of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has carried out two separate operations within three days. Both were based on intelligence inputs. The first targeted an inter-state drug smuggling syndicate, while the second busted a network engaged in illegal wildlife trafficking.
The first operation took place on September 27 at Nagpur railway station. With the help of the Railway Protection Force (RPF, Central Railway), DRI officers detained an Indian woman travelling in the Hazrat Nizamuddin-KSR Bengaluru Rajdhani Express.
A close search of her baggage revealed a secret cardboard box built behind the cloth lining inside her suitcase. It held two packets wrapped in blue carbon paper. A field drug testing kit confirmed that they contained amphetamine.
Officers seized a total of 1.312 kg of amphetamine, valued at about Rs 1.05 crore in the illegal market. The woman was arrested under the provisions of the NDPS Act and produced the same day before a vacation court.
The second operation was carried out on September 29. A DRI Nagpur team intercepted a syndicate engaged in illegal wildlife trafficking near Purada village in Gondia district. The team recovered a leopard skin and arrested two people involved in the illegal trade.
The leopard is a protected animal listed in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. For this reason, the recovered skin and the two accused were handed over to the Range Forest Officer for further legal action.
The DRI is continuously carrying out major operations across the country under its wildlife protection drive. It had earlier seized a leopard skin in Ujjain, tiger bones in Seoni, pangolin scales in Pileru and Jagdalpur, and elephant tusks in Mysuru.
