Amid Manipur violence drug trafficking going on unabated

The driver of the vehicle was arrested in that operation. Following his interrogation, another search was conducted in a different place in Guwahati, which led to the recovery of 900 gms of heroin.

New Delhi: Amid an ongoing ethnic clash in Manipur, illegal drug traffickers are running their businesses unabated while putting the security agencies into a tizzy. A senior official from a law enforcement agency told ETV Bharat on Friday in New Delhi that the ongoing violence has not hampered the business of the drug traffickers.

"The people involved in this business, in connivance with the local population, are running their business as usual," the official said. Taking advantage of the porous Indo-Myanmar border, the drug traffickers pump drugs from Myanmar into India and then transport their shipments into small vehicles to their destinations.

"They first collect the drugs from along the international border in Manipur and then tranship to other Indian States via Guwahati in Assam," the official said. According to the official, Guwahati, which is known as the gateway of the Northeast, is still a major transit route for the illegal drugs business.

Recently, a special Task Force of Assam police seized two kg of heroin from Guwahati in two separate operations. Investigation revealed that the consignment of heroin was coming from Myanmar via Manipur. "The consignment was being transported from Manipur in a Toyota Fortune vehicle, which was intercepted by the security agencies in Guwahati. Following a search of the vehicle, the drugs were found in soap boxes," the official said.

This was the first seizure of 1.3 kg of high-quality heroin. The driver of the vehicle was arrested in that operation. Following his interrogation, another search was conducted in a different place in Guwahati, which led to the recovery of 900 gms of heroin, the official said.

Poppy cultivation in Manipur along the India-Myanmar, which has been credited as one of the reasons for the ongoing violence in the State has become a major cause of concern for the security agencies. "However, the drug lords not only cultivate poppy illegally, but they have also set up narcotics manufacturing factories along the international border," the official said.

India and Myanmar share an international border of 1,600 km and the majority of the area is porous. "The drug traffickers take advantage of such porous border to smuggle drugs into India," the official said. Quoting reports, the official said that contraband items like heroin, and Yaba tablets are mostly sent through the India-Myanmar border to Assam and other states. A major portion of Yaba tablets is smuggled into Bangladesh. "The highest amount of such contraband items is sent to Bangalore, along with other places like Bihar, Jharkhand, Delhi and Punjab," the official said.