GRP personnel with the seized drugs and the peddlers on Tuesday. Picture by UB Photos

Aug. 16: Guwahati Railway Police (GRP) today arrested two persons and seized a large number of Spasmoproxyvon capsules from them at Guwahati railway station.

The medicine is a painkiller and abused for its addictive qualities.

According to officer-in-charge, GRP, D. Hazarika, the duo had 116,640 capsules in 4,860 strips, valued at Rs 2.42 lakh.

The GRPfrisked the luggage of Md Sheikh Sahabuddin, and Md Isaq Khan, both 22, during routine checking and found the capsules.

Sahabuddin hails from Keirao Mang Maya village while Khan is from Kiyamgei Oinam Lowkon village of Imphal East district in Manipur. They are cousins. Sahabuddin was working in Bhopal since 2007 as an accountant at a private store. He said Khan, who was jobless, had visited him in Bhopal this year.

From Bhopal they boarded the Indore-Patna Express to reach Kanpur and from there they reached Guwahati last evening by the Brahmaputra Mail.

However, they were stranded at the station since last night because all passenger trains were suspended.

The duo had purchased the medicines from Bhopal.

“From Dimapur we planned to take a bus to Imphal East district. There we would look for customers who would buy these medicines at a higher price,” Sahabuddin told this correspondent. The duo cited their poor economic condition for getting involved in the drug racket. Sahabuddin said it was their first time and before this they had never been involved in any illegal activities.

“I thought it would solve our financial problems as some people told us that we would make good profits,” he said.

Asked about how they managed to accumulate so many strips of the same medicine, Khan replied it was available in grey market. They had selected this medicine because it was not easily available in the market, though its demand was very high.

The cousins said the security was nowhere as strict as it was in here.