Heroin manufacturing units have sprung up in Manipur
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, December 05 2011: The Assistant Director of Narcotics Control Bureau, Imphal Unit, Bijoy Shahni has disclosed that heroin manufacturing units have come up in Manipur and the products are sold in Imphal area.

Addressing a press conference held at its regional office at ISKON complex, Imphal airport road today, Bijoy Shahni said that according to intelligence reports the juice of poppy plants, which are abundantly found in the state, is being processed into heroin, locally known as No.4, in the Muslim inhabited areas of Thoubal district.

The process of producing heroin from the juice of the poppy plants by heating the juice in a pan, which normally takes 10 hours, is carried out at night. The heroin which is produced in the state is of second class standard.

The finished products are sold in different districts of the state, particularly Imphal.

In order to put an end to the use and production of poppy plants, the Narcotics Control Bureau has destroyed poppy cultivation in around 904 hectares so far, he added.

The destroyed poppy cultivation include 25 hectares in Kangchup area, Koubru hill, Senapati district, 68 hectares in Thingjam area, 61 hectares in Thinghangjang and Solpijang hills near Churchandpur, 100 hectares in Saikul, Senapati district, 650 hectares in Litan, Ukhrul district and some areas in Machi hills in Chandel district.

The operation was carried out along with AR personnel and various Civil Society Organisations, he said.

Heroin is illegally transported from Myanmar through Manipur to other parts of the country via Nagaland and Assam.

Likewise drugs including Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine tablets are also smuggled to Myanmar through Manipur.

These drugs which cost 40 paisa in India is sold at Rs 10 in Myanmar.

In Myanmar, again, the drug is mixed with some other chemicals and sold back to India at Rs 1500 per tablet, he added.

He went on to say that, during the current year, Narcotics Control Bureau seized Ephedrine drugs worth around Rs 20 crores from the Imphal airport.

He said poppy plant is being cultivated in places where ganja used to be cultivated since it is more profitable.

Many of the forest area in the state have now turned into poppy cultivation area.

He also informed that the rate of heroin drug smuggled from Myanmar is about Rs 12 lakh per kg with .one handgun in free to buy it.

According to NCB, Imphal, the bureau has managed to seize large amount of drugs and drug traffickers from the period from January- November 2011 .

In this period the amount of seized drugs and smugglers are ganja 2567 kg, number of persons arrested 7; heroin 648 gm, number of persons arrested 6; opium 21.425 kg, number of persons arrested 1; pseudoephedrine 7157146 tablets, number of persons arrested 17; ephedrine 12, 68,000 tablets, number of persons arrested 6 and others 1466 "WY" tablets and 3414 SP capsules, number of persons arrested 3 .

He further said that at the Regional Coordinating meeting held at Kolkata recently, all the seven North Eastern states took part where they unanimously resolved to ban plantation of poppy plants in the region.

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