DRI seizes narcotics worth INR 173 crore in northeast since January

• 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.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• The DRI said that these seizures form part of its continued crackdown on drug trafficking and smuggling networks in the region.