GUWAHATI: Militancy is under check in the Northeast but a new threat is lurking on the horizon.
In one of the biggest hauls of heroin in the country, Manipur Police seized 184 kgs of heroin, manufactured in a factory in state capital Imphal. Chemical materials were also seized.
The raw materials are available in the state’s hill districts and the chemical compounds are smuggled in from elsewhere.
The seized contraband was worth over Rs.100 crore in the international black market. The seizure was made in Thoubal district, said to be notorious for drugs-manufacturing, during a raid. It was carried out based on specific intelligence. The drugs-manufacturing factory was being run by one Moijingmayum Md Muhammed (41) aka Mani. He was arrested.
In June, a combined team of the police and Narcotics and Affairs of Border had seized 112 kgs of heroin from a similar factory located at Lilong Turel area of the same district.
Thoubal Superintendent of Police, S Ibomcha Singh, said the raw materials often come from the hill districts such as Tengnoupal, Chandel, Churachandpur, Ukhrul, Senapati, Kangpokpi and Tamenglong.
“There are massive cultivations of poppy on vast swathes of land in the far-flung areas of the hill districts. We destroy the plantations from time to time, especially from November to February,” Singh said.
He said the cultivation of poppy and production of drugs emerged as a new challenge for Manipur Police.
“Militancy in Manipur is under control but we are now faced with a new challenge which comes from drugs-manufacturing. We are doing everything possible to weed it out. We are getting a good support from the state government,” Singh said.
He added that a lot of people had come out to help the police in curbing the menace knowing well the threat it posed to the society.
Manipur has over 40 insurgent groups and militancy used to be its biggest problem. However, the situation improved after most of them had signed ceasefire and suspension of operations agreements with the government.