Nagpur: In a major breakthrough against inter-state narcotics smuggling, the Government Railway Police (GRP) in Nagpur have arrested a 49-year-old man from Koraput, Odisha, in connection with an abandoned consignment of ganja discovered on board the Gondwana Express last month.
The seizure occurred on April 11 during a routine inspection of train number 12409, Gondwana Express. GRP personnel, while checking one of the general coaches, found an unclaimed blue bag. Upon opening it, they discovered 8.550 kg of ganja, estimated to be worth Rs 1.28 lakh in the illegal market. A basic mobile phone was also recovered from the same bag, which later proved to be the crucial lead in cracking the case.
Gold Rate
29 May 2025
Treating the seizure as a case of organized smuggling, GRP officials registered an FIR and launched a digital trail investigation using the mobile phone’s Call Detail Records (CDR), Subscriber Details Record (SDR), and location data. The probe led the team to Koraput, a known hub for ganja cultivation and trafficking.
A dedicated GRP team was sent to Odisha and successfully apprehended the suspect — identified as Dawari Krishna Veerprakash Sharma — who later confessed to transporting the contraband via the Gondwana Express.
The operation was spearheaded by Superintendent of Police (GRP) Mangesh Shinde, with strategic oversight from Additional SP Dattaram Rathod, SDPO Pandurang Sonawane, and In-charge Officer Gaurav Gawande.
The arrest team included API Neelam Dongre, Head Constable Pushparaj Mishra, and constables Sanjay Patle, Kishore Ishwar, Azhar Ali, and Roshan Mogre.
Following the arrest, GRP has intensified its efforts to trace the wider network behind the inter-state drug trafficking syndicate. Investigators believe Sharma may be a small link in a larger smuggling operation that utilizes railway routes to ferry ganja from the eastern states to other parts of the country.
