- KOHIMA — The Directorate of Revenue
Intelligence (DRI) has seized contraband substances worth approximately INR 173
crore and arrested 26 individuals in multiple operations across the North
Eastern Region (NER) since January 2025, the agency said in an update.
- In its latest operation, the DRI, with assistance from the
19 BN Assam Rifles, intercepted a truck on May 21 at Noney, Manipur, along
National Highway 37. The search led to the discovery of 569 grams of heroin and
1,039 grams of methamphetamine tablets, concealed in a specially fabricated
cavity inside the truck’s chassis.
- The following day, on May 22, another truck was intercepted
at Aloicherra in Assam’s Hailakandi district with support from the Assam Rifles
FIU Unit based in Silchar. Officials recovered 2.64 kilograms of heroin hidden
within a concealed compartment in the truck's bedload floor. The contraband
recovered from both vehicles was valued at approximately INR 23.5 crore in the
international grey market. Four people were arrested in connection with the two
cases. All seizures were made under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, the update stated.
- Earlier this month, the DRI also carried out several other
high-value seizures across Assam and Mizoram. On May 18, it recovered 48.88
metric tonnes of poppy seeds and 15.1 metric tonnes of dry split areca nuts
from a godown in Mizoram. The goods were allegedly smuggled from across the
Indo-Myanmar border.
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- On May 17, officials seized 4.8 lakh sticks of
foreign-origin cigarettes near Guwahati. The cigarettes were hidden under
bundles of waste paper in a truck. Two persons were arrested. Just three days
prior, on May 14, 12.3 metric tonnes of smuggled poppy seeds were found in
trucks intercepted near Guwahati, resulting in the arrest of three more individuals.
- In yet another case on May 1, 8.80 lakh sticks of foreign
cigarettes and a quantity of poppy seeds were recovered from a godown and a
truck in Assam. One person was taken into custody during that operation.
