54 kg opium seized, State native held
Source: The Sangai Express / Courtesy - TNN

Guwahati, May 09 2016: In one of the region's biggest drug hauls, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) seized over 54kg of opium and over 2kg of morphine here on Saturday night.

Four persons, including an opium supplier from Manipur, were arrested.

Director of NCB's Guwahati zone Praveen Kumar Deshwal on Sunday said, "The arrested were identified as Abdul Kalam, Md Mojibur Rahman, Sohrab Khan and Ram Milan.

Abdul was the supplier and Sohrab, the buyer" .

While Abdul and Mojibur are from Imphal East, Sohrab is from Gaya and Ram Milan is from Raebareli.

All four are part of an inter-State drug racket in the region.

"The consignment came from Manipur in a truck and was to leave the city in a SUV.

The accused made secret cavities in the SUV to conceal the drugs.

The vehicles were also seized.

Guwahati is the transit point for the racket," Deshwal said.

Based on revelation of the arrested, NCB teams have launched raids in UP and Bihar, too.

An earlier study by the Institute for Narcotics Studies and Analysis showed high opium cultivation in Anjaw and Lohit districts of Arunachal.

An overwhelming 90% villages in Anjaw cultivated opium, the report said and added that in Lohit, the corresponding figure was 63% .

Sources said Manipur has also become a major producer of opium in the region.

"Morphine is extracted from opium with the help of a chemical called acetic anhydride and then heroin-based drugs are prepared," the sources added.

Comment