Manipur Police seize drugs worth Rs 22 cr ; one held

Manipur Police have seized 57 kg of methamphetamine tablets worth ₹22 crore and arrested a truck driver. In a separate operation, heroin and opium worth ₹55 crore were found in Churachandpur, highlighting continued drug smuggling through the Myanmar border

Imphal: Manipur Police have seized a huge quantity of highly-addictive methamphetamine tablets valued at over Rs 22 crore and arrested a truck driver, officials said here on Saturday.

A senior official said that the Manipur Police intercepted a truck at the New Keithelmanbi Police picket in Imphal West District on Friday night and found huge amounts of drugs concealed inside the roof of the vehicle.

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The contraband items were found to be methamphetamine tablets, also known as Yaba or party tablets, upon sample testing. Accordingly, the driver of the truck, identified as Nawaj Sharif (34), a resident of Thoubal District, was arrested, and 57.285 kg of methamphetamine tablets worth Rs 22 crore were seized, the official said.

Another police officer said that last week a joint team of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Customs, Assam Rifles, and the Manipur Police seized 7,755.75 grams of heroin valued at Rs 54.29 cr and 6,736 gram of opium valued at Rs 87.57 lakh in the international grey drug market, along with Rs 35.63 lakh cash.

Two walkie-talkies and one vehicle have also been seized, and five people were arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act), the official said.

He said that the drugs, which were recovered from a house at Thadou Veng in Churachandpur district, were contained in many soap cases and small tin cans. Preliminary investigation indicates that the seized contraband drugs were smuggled into the bordering areas of Churachandpur from Myanmar through the porous forested India-Myanmar border.

In spite of the challenges and difficulties, a well-coordinated action by the law enforcement agencies led to the successful operation, an official statement had said. The NDPS Act prescribes stringent punishment to offenders, which may entail Rigorous Imprisonment up to ten years.

Earlier on several occasions, large quantities of drugs were seized from Churachandpur, which shares an unfenced border with Myanmar and Mizoram. Myanmar, which shares a 1,643 km unfenced border with four northeastern states — Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, and Mizoram — serves as a key transit point for drugs, particularly heroin and methamphetamine tablets, entering India.