Guwahati/Imphal: Assam Rifles units, under the Army’s Spear Corps, in coordination with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and state police, made huge seizures of narcotics and weapons in Assam and Manipur on Friday.
In intelligence-based operations carried out in Jiribam in Manipur and the Sribhumi district of Assam, security forces seized 10.891 kg of Brown Sugar worth nearly Rs 80 crore. About 14,000 Yaba/methamphetamine tablets were also seized. These were worth nearly Rs 2.5 crore, as reported by IANS.
Six persons were apprehended in this connection.
“The successful operations underscore the effectiveness of inter-agency coordination and the unwavering resolve of Assam Rifles to disrupt narcotics networks, deny illicit trafficking routes and safeguard the northeastern states from the menace of drugs,” the Spear Corps said in a post on X.
Another intelligence-based operation by the Assam Rifles and Manipur Police in the Imphal East district of Manipur resulted in the recovery of six firearms.
Follow-up operations at Keishampat and Charangpat resulted in the apprehension of three active UNLF (K) cadres involved in an extortion network.
The joint operations were aimed at busting an illegal arms and extortion racket in Manipur, the Army said.
The ethnic violence in Manipur since May 2023 has claimed 306 lives, the state government has said. Under the circumstances, the Assam Rifles is providing assistance to the state police in recovering illegal weapons.
“Several insurgent outfits that were dealt a heavy blow during Counter Insurgency/Counter Terrorism (CI/CT) operations in Manipur over the years, are trying to regroup through extortion and recruitment. There is also trafficking of narcotics from across the border that helps in funding their efforts,” a senior official said.
While the Army and Assam Rifles are not directly involved in the maintenance of law and order in Manipur, activities such as narcotics smuggling is linked to insurgency. Drugs like Brown Sugar and Yaba are sourced from Myanmar, where insurgent groups operating in the northeastern states, have their camps.
With the government focussing on the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, all agencies have been directed to maintain a watch on states where trafficking of drugs is rampant.
“The effort is to bring about peace in Manipur. This can happen only through the seizure of narcotics and illegal arms. There is a close link to narcotics and what is happening in the state now. Illegal weapons are also a factors,” the official said.
The Army and Assam Rifles will continue to aid civil authorities in the crackdown against the trafficking of narcotics and illegal weapons in the northeastern states, other officials said.
Such activities are affecting the youth in the states who are being roped in with promises of good earnings. The security forces are making all efforts to bust the main trafficking networks that are active in the region.
