Two arrested with suspected heroin in Manipur crackdown

IMPHAL — In a major breakthrough in the ongoing crackdown against drug trafficking in the region, a joint team of Manipur Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) seized over two kilograms of suspected heroin powder from the possession of two individuals on August 15.

According to Manipur Police, the arrested individuals have been identified as Jenarul Mia (21) from Shasani in Maldah district, West Bengal, and Deba Das (18) from Bokajan Bazar in Karbi Anglong district, Assam.

Informing that two packets of suspected heroin powder weighing 2.066 kgs were seized from their possession, police said, “Two mobile phones and the motorbike used for carrying the drugs were also seized from them.”

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Though the place of the arrest and seizure was not mentioned in the statement of police, sources confirmed that the arrest of the two individuals and seizure of the suspected heroin powder from their possession was made at the Tumuyon Khullen Naka checkpoint in Manipur’s Senapati district.

Also, the security forces have recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition in search operations and ongoing area domination in the fringe and vulnerable areas across districts.

The items recovered during an operation at the Ngariyan Chingyang area in Imphal East district include one 12-bore double-barrel gun, one INSAS LMG magazine, one SLR rifle magazine, 27 7.62 SLR rifle live ammunition, 20 7.62 mm AK rifle live rounds, three 9 mm live rounds, three tear smoke shells, one tear smoke shell soft nose, one 38 mm anti-riot cartridge with rubber bullets, one stun shell, 17 7.62 mm empty cartridges, 31 .303 rifle empty cartridges, and two 12-bore empty cartridges, according to police.

Further, in his Independence Day celebration speech in Imphal on August 15, Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla said that more than 3,000 arms have been recovered, large quantities of drugs have been seized, and more than 400 extortion-related arrests have been made in the state during the last six months.