The Meghalaya Police seized drugs worth over Rs 51 crore, the biggest haul of narcotics in the state so far, in East Jaintia Hills district and arrested two Mizoram-based persons in this connection, a senior officer said on Saturday. The seizure was made during a coordinated naka-checking conducted by the police and Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) personnel in the Ratacherra area on Friday, he said. According to police, a vehicle carrying three occupants, including the driver, was intercepted during the operation. The vehicle was searched following due legal procedures.
During the search, officers recovered 19 plastic soap cases containing suspected heroin weighing about 203.7 grams from one of the occupants. Further checking of the vehicle led to the discovery of a blue trolley bag belonging to another passenger. Inside the bag, officials found suspected crystal methamphetamine tablets weighing around 10.145 kilograms. Methamphetamine tablets are banned in India.
Two of the three occupants of the vehicle were arrested following the seizure. Police said preliminary investigations suggest that the accused are part of an interstate and cross-border drug trafficking network. Anti-Narcotics Task Force chief Vikash Kumar said the total value of the seized contraband is estimated at around Rs 51.13 crore. “The arrested persons are residents of Mizoram,” Kumar told media, adding that further investigations are underway. A case has been registered at the ANTF police station, and authorities are working to establish the forward and backward linkages of the trafficking network involved in the operation.
