Man held with 699 pearls worth over Rs 1cr at Badarpur rly stn

Silchar: Railway police arrested a Mizoram resident and seized 699 pearls worth over Rs 1 crore during a joint operation at Badarpur railway station in Assam’s Cachar district, officials said on Saturday.The accused, identified as Thang Chian Muang, was detained while allegedly attempting to transport the pearls to Delhi aboard the Anand Vihar Express.The operation was carried out jointly by the Government Railway Police (GRP) and the customs department after they received specific intelligence inputs about a possible smuggling attempt through the railway route, the officials said.Acting on the tip-off, the officials conducted a search of the train at Badarpur station and recovered the pearls from the suspect. The accused was taken into custody and is being interrogated. Investigators suspect the pearls were being transported to Delhi for illegal trade.Police said further investigation is underway to determine the source of the pearls and to find out whether an organised smuggling network is involved.