Railway police officials of the Salem sub-division with the seized ganja in Tamil Nadu.

| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT.

The railway police officials of the Salem sub-division seized 590 kilograms of ganja from January 1, 2026 to August 10, 2026 and arrested 16 individuals involved in smuggling ganja on trains.The State government is taking various steps to prevent the smuggling ganja and tobacco products from nearby states. As the police intensify vehicle checkup in the national highways, state highways and near toll plazas, ganja is being smuggled through trains to avoid police action.Following this, the Director General of Police (DGP) for Railways, K. Vanniaperumal, instructed the railway police to increase inspections on the railways to prevent the entry of ganja into the State. Based on these instructions, the Salem sub-division railway police, which covers Salem, Dharmapuri, Hosur, Jolarpettai, and Katpadi railway stations, intensified their checks on trains. Fifteen special teams were formed for this purpose..As a result, from January 1 to August 10, 2026, the railway police seized 590 kg of ganja that was smuggled in trains and 16 were arrested. Likewise, 166 kg of gutkha was also seized during these searches and four persons were arrested. Railway police officials said that the police are primarily concentrating on the trains coming from Odisha and Andhra Pradesh borders. The dealers are using migrant workers to transport ganja via train for delivering the parcel for a cost from ₹1,000 to ₹1,500. But, the workers, especially from Jharkhand and Odisha, were unaware of what they were delivering.Officials added that most of the ganja was being smuggled to Bengaluru and Kerala. Per day, 18 trains from Odisha and Andhra Pradesh were checked in the Salem sub-division. The police began their checks in all compartments from Tirupati to Salem or from Arakkonam to Salem. “Last year, in the Salem sub-division, around 500 kg of ganja were seized. However, this year, within seven months, the total has reached 590 kg. In the last week alone, 80 kg of ganja and 55 kg of gutkha were seized,” police officials added. Published - August 11, 2026 07:08 pm IST