BSF Jawan Among Three Arrested With Brown Sugar Worth Rs.5 Lakh in Tripura

Agartala: In a joint operation carried out on Wednesday night, November 5, Tripura Police and the Government Railway Police (GRP) arrested three individuals, including a personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF), for allegedly possessing brown sugar worth around Rs.5 Lakh. Officials recovered 128 grams of the narcotic, neatly packed in 10 small cases, during the coordinated raid in South Tripura.

The accused include two residents of Assam and a BSF jawan attached to 122nd Battallion posted in South Tripura. Police sources revealed that the raid targeted a suspected transit and distribution link in the region. The incident forms part of a worrying trend of narcotics smuggling and seizures in the northeastern region of India. For instance, recently in the Churachandpur district of Manipur, security forces seized about 5.016 kg of brown sugar, worth an estimated Rs.48.7 crore in the international black market. The consignment was said to be smuggled from Myanmar through Mizoram. Another case in the same region of Senapati district in Manipur, near the border with Nagaland, a car was intercepted, and 170 gm of brown sugar packed in soap cases were seized. In the Longding district of Arunachal Pradesh, a drug peddler was apprehended carrying about 53.76 gm of brown sugar and the operation was carried out by joint teams, including Military Intelligence and the 24 Assam Rifles.

The Tripura raid, though smaller in quantity compared with the large Manipur operation, highlights clearly how even modest consignments are being intercepted, suggesting active street-level networks working below the major syndicates. Investigators believe the arrested BSF jawan’s involvement may help authorities trace how uniformed personnel or security postings might be exploited for transit or concealment of narcotics.

Further lines of enquiry include tracking who supplied the brown sugar, its intended distribution hubs, whether interstate or international links (especially via Myanmar, Bangladesh or Bangladesh-India border routes) are involved and whether similar consignments were being moved earlier without detection. The GRP is also investigating possible misuse of railway transport corridors. Charges are being lodged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and related provisions. The Tripura Police have requested the public, especially railway staff and communities in border areas, to remain vigilant for unusual movements or individuals travelling in uniform while carrying packages. As the officials continued with their operation on cross-border smuggling of drugs, these coordinated operations highlight both the complexity of networks and the need for sustained intelligence-led action at all levels, from large seizures to frontline detection of smaller consignments before they spread into local supply chains.

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