Daijiworld Media Network - Guwahati

Guwahati, Aug 24: In a series of coordinated anti-narcotics operations across Assam and Manipur, security forces have seized drugs valued at over Rs 8 crore and arrested eight individuals involved in trafficking within the last 24 hours, officials said on Sunday.

In Assam, police in Sribhumi district (formerly Karimganj) apprehended two traffickers and confiscated 20,000 methamphetamine tablets, estimated to be worth more than Rs 3 crore. In another operation, Assam Police arrested a man in Karbi Anglong district and recovered 4.1 kg of morphine valued at over Rs 4 crore. Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma lauded the efforts of the police forces for their success in both cases.

Meanwhile, in Manipur’s Thoubal district, a joint operation by the Manipur Police, CRPF, and BSF led to the arrest of five individuals, including a woman, and the seizure of banned meth tablets worth over Rs 1 crore. Authorities also confiscated two vehicles, six mobile phones, drug ledgers, diaries, 120 empty plastic containers, and other evidence of trafficking from the accused’s residences.

Among the arrested were two known repeat offenders — Muhammad Mustakim and Muhammad Baboy alias Yahiya Khan — both of whom had been previously arrested in Assam for smuggling heroin and meth tablets and released on bail.

Officials believe the seized drugs originated from Myanmar and were being routed through the porous India-Myanmar border into other parts of the country. Security agencies continue to highlight the challenge posed by the unfenced 510-km border Mizoram shares with Myanmar, as well as the 398-km stretch through Manipur, both of which serve as major entry points for narcotics and other contraband into India.