Railway Protection Force personnel and railway police seized one kilogram of heroin worth more than Rs 20 lakh during a joint inspection at Ernakulam Junction railway station in Kochi on Monday, with officials launching an investigation to identify the people behind the consignment.
The contraband was found abandoned in a plastic cover near a lift at the station. Investigators are examining where the heroin came from, who was expected to receive it and whether the seizure is linked to a wider network using trains and railway stations to move narcotics.
Preliminary findings suggest that the drug may have been brought from Odisha, according to the report. The authorities have not identified a suspect in connection with the seized consignment, and the investigation is continuing.
The inspection team was led by RPF senior divisional security commissioner Mohammed Haneef and included assistant commissioner Ratheesh Babu, RPF inspector Binoy Antony, Ernakulam railway DSP George Joseph and SI Sunil. The joint operation was conducted as part of intensified efforts to prevent drug trafficking through trains.
RPF sources said special surveillance and inspections had been introduced at railway stations and on trains to monitor suspicious activities and prevent offences linked to narcotics trafficking. Ernakulam Junction, one of Kochi’s key railway stations, handles passenger movement through a major transport hub, making security checks an important part of railway policing and station management.
The seizure also highlights the operational challenge of detecting abandoned packages in busy public transport facilities. In this case, the heroin was recovered from an area near a lift, a location accessible to passengers and railway users. The investigation will now have to establish when the package was placed there and whether it was abandoned after the intended handover was disrupted.
The seizure was reported alongside separate police actions in Ernakulam district. Elamakkara Police arrested a 64-year-old man in connection with the alleged theft of a brass idol, cash and other items from Edappally Ganapathy Temple. Separately, Ernakulam Rural Police registered four cases against alleged illegal moneylenders after inspections at 42 locations, seizing blank cheques, vehicle documents, financial records, 11 two-wheelers, two cars and Rs 12.5 lakh in unaccounted cash.
For the railway case, officials are continuing efforts to trace the source of the heroin, identify its intended recipients and determine the network involved in transporting the drug. Further details are expected as the investigation progresses.
