Police in Assam and Manipur arrested six alleged drug peddlers, including one woman, in a series of separate anti-narcotics operations, recovering large quantities of methamphetamine tablets, heroin, and brown sugar collectively valued at approximately ₹23 crore in the illicit market, officials said on Saturday, 1 August. Three of the accused are residents of Assam and three are from Manipur.

Guwahati Intercept: ₹12.5 Crore Haul from Vehicle

Personnel of the Special Task Force (STF), acting on specific intelligence inputs and working alongside Assam Police, intercepted a vehicle at Amingaon on the outskirts of Guwahati. A thorough search of the vehicle uncovered 50,000 methamphetamine tablets weighing approximately 5 kg (excluding packaging), concealed within specially built secret compartments. Officers also recovered five soap cases containing 67.5 grams of heroin from the same vehicle. The total value of this consignment is estimated at around ₹12.5 crore in the international illicit drug market.

The three occupants arrested on the spot were identified as Kh Tabish (24) and Thekcham Avinash Singh (41), both residents of Thoubal district in Manipur, and Nongmaithem Biswajit (38), a resident of Imphal West district.

The methamphetamine tablets, commonly known as Yaba or 'party tablets', contain a combination of methamphetamine and caffeine and are widely abused as high-potency narcotics in Bangladesh, Myanmar, and several neighbouring countries, as well as parts of India. Investigators suspect the consignment was smuggled from Myanmar, transported through Manipur, and was en route to Assam for further distribution.

Manipur Operations: Brown Sugar and Heroin Recovered

In a separate operation in Manipur, police personnel conducting routine vehicle checks at the Leingangpokpi checkpost in Jiribam district intercepted a car and arrested its occupant, Bhima Panika (42), a resident of Karbi Anglong district in Assam. A search of the vehicle yielded 5.21 kg of brown sugar, estimated to be worth more than ₹10 crore in the illegal market.

In another Manipur operation, police arrested Shahna (27), a resident of Kwakta in Bishnupur district, following a search of her residence. Officers recovered two soap cases containing approximately 70 grams of heroin powder, valued at over ₹55 lakh.

Additionally, Manipur Police — continuing a probe registered at Patsoi Police Station under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 — arrested the main accused in an earlier case, Meraimayum Razak Ahamed (35), a resident of Yairipok Tulihal Mayai Leikai in Imphal East district. He was taken into custody from his residence in connection with a prior recovery of brown sugar from a Pajero SUV found at a vehicle workshop. Police said further investigation is underway to trace the wider network.

Northeast's Porous Borders Fuel the Drug Corridor

Security agencies have repeatedly flagged that Manipur and Mizoram have emerged as major drug trafficking corridors in the Northeast, owing to their long and largely unfenced international borders with Myanmar. Manipur shares an approximately 400-km unfenced border with Myanmar, while Mizoram has an unfenced border of about 510 km with Myanmar and around 318 km with Bangladesh — making the entire sub-region acutely vulnerable to cross-border narcotics smuggling.

Law enforcement agencies have also frequently intercepted consignments of Codeine Phosphate-based cough syrup, another substance reportedly trafficked illegally into Bangladesh. All seized substances are prohibited under the provisions of the NDPS Act in India. Police said investigations into the wider supply chain are continuing.