The four-hour long search came after a raid at the Central parcel office on September 8, during which they found several parcels bearing invoice number of consignments delivered the previous day. But agents claimed that they had used the old bags for fresh booking but without removing tags. However, officials said the parcels caught last week had arrived from Howrah on two different days with the same invoice number, and they weighed in excess.

Smelling a rat, the vigilance team hit the same train on Tuesday. At least three dozen men employed by the parcel agents picketed the parcel office during the raid. “Realising that something was amiss, vigilance sleuths raided the parcel vans of the same train twice in a week. It is a racket involving staff and agents at Chennai and Howrah,” an insider disclosed.

“How did 30 plus agents’ representatives gather without authorisation? Why are only consignments booked through agents weighing in excess? About a dozen consignments sent by individuals from Howrah on the same train were proper,” pointed out a railway source. Barely a month ago, operations department officials had detected a similar case at Chennai Central, which revealed that a parcel van was loaded by eight tonnes, jeopardising safety.

When asked, a senior official said, “Yesterday, the parcels were sent from Howrah. So, no employee here was involved. We are awaiting details from the vigilance team, which may recommend action based on what they have discovered.”