Archive · 31 Oct 2025
Tripura Police Arrest Drug Kingpin After Seizing Rs 5.4 Cr Cough Syrup
Imagine police found a lot of special cough syrup that some people misuse like drugs.
This cough syrup was hidden on a train that came from Delhi and was going to be sent to another country.
The police caught one of the main people in charge of this illegal operation.
They are still looking for others involved.
This is part of a bigger effort to stop people from smuggling drugs in the region.
In just a few weeks, lots of drugs worth a lot of money have been found, showing this is a big problem.
Tripura Police arrested Rajib Dasgupta, a key figure in a drug trafficking network, on Thursday night.
The arrest is linked to the seizure of 1,07,800 bottles of banned ESkuf cough syrup worth Rs 5.4 crore from a goods train on October 17.
The seized cough syrup contains controlled substances and is misused as a narcotic.
Authorities suspect the consignment was part of a cross-border smuggling operation intended for Bangladesh, using Tripura as a transit point.
Law enforcement agencies have intensified efforts against drug trafficking in the region, with over Rs 136 crore worth of narcotics seized in Tripura in the past three weeks.
- Who
- Tripura Police Crime Branch's Anti-Narcotics Wing
- What
- Arrested Rajib Dasgupta, a key drug kingpin, following the seizure of Rs 5.4 crore worth of banned cough syrup.
- When
- The arrest occurred on Thursday night, following the seizure on October 17.
- Where
- Jirania railway station in West Tripura district, and the arrest was made by Tripura Police.
- Why
- To crack down on narcotics trafficking and dismantle a major drug trafficking network across the Northeast and into Bangladesh.
Law Enforcement Perspective
Smugglers' Tactics
Objective
Law Enforcement Perspective
To dismantle drug trafficking networks, prevent illegal substances from entering the market and neighboring countries, and ensure regional stability.
Smugglers' Tactics
To transport and profit from the illicit sale of controlled substances, utilizing clandestine methods to evade detection.
Methods
Law Enforcement Perspective
Intelligence-led operations, inter-agency coordination (Assam Rifles, GRP, STF, Customs), intensified surveillance, and raids.
Smugglers' Tactics
Camouflaging contraband among legitimate cargo (rice, chicken feed) in train wagons and exploiting porous international borders.
Route and Destination
Law Enforcement Perspective
Drugs are smuggled from Myanmar, transported through Mizoram and southern Assam, reaching Tripura for onward movement into Bangladesh.
Smugglers' Tactics
Utilizing established routes from Myanmar through Northeast India to facilitate cross-border trafficking into Bangladesh.
- Arrested Individual
- Rajib Dasgupta (42)
- Seized Item
- 1,07,800 bottles of ESkuf cough syrup
- Estimated Value
- Rs 5.4 crore
- Date of Seizure
- October 17
- Date of Arrest
- Thursday night (prior to Oct 31)
- Location of Seizure
- Jirania railway station, West Tripura district
- Origin of Train
- Delhi