Drug Trafficking Expands in Tripura with Delivery Disguises, No Serious Discussion in State Assembly Raises Concern
By Our Correspondent
Agartala, March 19, 2026
In a concerning development, narcotics traffickers in Tripura are increasingly using parcel delivery disguises to transport illegal substances. In a major breakthrough, personnel of AD Nagar Police Station under West Tripura district apprehended two youths during routine vehicle checking at the Kabiraj Tilla area on Wednesday.
According to police sources, the duo, who were arriving on a motorcycle, ignored signals to stop and attempted to flee. After a brief chase, they were intercepted. Upon searching, police recovered 140 bottles of Eskuf (codeine-based cough syrup) along with the vehicle.
One of the accused is a minor, and his identity has been withheld. Officer-in-Charge Abhijit Mondal stated that the accused cleverly used delivery-style bags to masquerade as parcel delivery workers while transporting narcotics. A case has been registered under the NDPS Act, and further investigation is underway to trace links to a larger trafficking network.
Similarly, in a separate operation on Wednesday morning, police recovered 96 kilograms of dry ganja from a goods vehicle in the Singichhara area along National Highway 208 under Khowai Police Station.
Acting on prior intelligence, police set up a naka checkpoint near Mahadeb Tilla tri-junction. A suspicious vehicle refused to stop and sped away, prompting a chase. The driver eventually abandoned the vehicle and fled.
Upon inspection, officers discovered a hidden chamber inside the vehicle containing multiple packets of ganja. The vehicle has been seized, and a search operation is underway to nab the absconding driver. Preliminary inputs suggest that the consignment was being transported from Mohanpur to Kamalpur.
Reportedly, Tripura continues to witness frequent seizures of narcotics across different districts, pointing to the alarming spread of drug trafficking networks. Alongside this, incidents of theft, snatching, and other crimes linked to addiction are also reportedly on the rise.
Despite regular arrests and recoveries, major traffickers continue to evade law enforcement, raising serious concerns about the effectiveness of ongoing anti-drug operations. Observers question whether enforcement efforts are largely limited to apprehending small carriers while the masterminds operate from behind the scenes.
The recent developments underline a worrying pattern, including the use of innovative disguises such as delivery personnel, the expansion of organized inter-district trafficking routes, and the continued failure to apprehend key operators.
The situation raises a pressing question, is the fight against drugs in Tripura addressing the real power structures behind the trade, or merely its visible edges?
This concern becomes more significant in the backdrop of no serious or focused discussion on the drug menace in the ongoing State Assembly session, raising doubts about the level of urgency being attached to the issue.
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