The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Nagpur Regional Unit of the Mumbai Zone, has successfully executed two major intelligence-driven operations in the region. The unit has busted an inter-state drug trafficking syndicate and an illicit wildlife smuggling network within a span of three days. In the first operation on September 27, DRI officers, with the help of RPF (Central Railway) Nagpur, intercepted a woman travelling on Hazrat Nizamuddin – KSR Bengaluru Rajdhani Express at Nagpur Railway Station.

 

A detailed examination of her luggage revealed a concealed hard cardboard compartment created behind the inner fabric lining of her suitcase. The officers recovered two packages wrapped in blue carbon paper, which tested positive for Amphetamine using a field drug testing kit. The seized 1.312 kg of Amphetamine holds an illicit market value of approximately Rs 1.05 crore. The passenger was arrested under the provisions of the NDPS Act, 1985, and produced before the Holiday Court at Nagpur on the same day.

 

In another operation on September 29, the DRI Nagpur Regional Unit intercepted and busted an illegal wildlife trafficking syndicate near Purada village in Gondia district. Officers recovered a leopard (Panthera pardus) skin and apprehended two individuals involved in its illegal trade. As the leopard is listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the recovered skin and the two apprehended individuals were handed over to the Forest Range Officer, North Deoria Range, Gondia, for further action. This operation follows a series of successful wildlife enforcement actions by DRI Nagpur across the country, including seizure of leopard skin in Ujjain, tiger bones in Seoni, pangolin scales in Pileru and Jagdalpur, and elephant ivory in Mysuru.