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GUWAHATI — Two persons from Manipur were arrested in Assam on Sunday after drugs worth INR 18 crore were seized from their possession in Guwahati and neighbouring Kamrup district, police said.
Acting on a tip-off, the Assam Police's Special Task Force personnel along with the Kamrup police chased a vehicle with the two alleged traffickers on board and apprehended them, a senior officer said.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]STF Deputy Inspector General Partha Sarathi Mahanta said police personnel were deployed after information was received that a Manipur-based group would transport drugs through Assam.
"Early on Sunday, specific information was received that the group was on its way in a luxury vehicle to deliver the contraband.
"Accordingly, the vehicle was tracked down and an STF team along with Kamrup district police chased the team. In order to escape the police dragnet, the peddlers tried to flee the spot. In the process, the driver lost control over the vehicle and it fell around 100 ft down the hillock of Powa Makkah in Hajo," Mahanta told PTI.
The police team arrested the two persons, both hailing from Manipur and carried out an extensive search of the overturned vehicle, he said.
Taking to Twitter, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "Early this morning, @KamrupPolice apprehended two drug peddlers, natives of a neighbouring state, who were involved in the distribution of narcotics in Assam. They were found in possession of 2.2 kg of heroin concealed in soap boxes and packets. Kudos to @assampolice for their outstanding efforts in combating drug trafficking."
"The search of the damaged vehicle yielded 100 soap boxes of heroin, weighing 1.3 kg. Another search of their rented house at Jalukbari in Guwahati city led to the recovery of 65 more packets of heroin weighing 900 grams," the DIG said.
The investigation is on to find out other people associated with the network, he added.