KOHIMA — The
Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on January 22 updated that contraband
drugs worth INR 355 crore was seized from north eastern region (NER) of India
from April 2024 till date.
It informed that during the present financial year, which is
from April 2024 till date, the DRI has booked 36 cases of smuggling and
trafficking of contraband drugs in the north east region and arrested 70
persons, out of which seven were females.
The seized contraband drugs included over 231 kg
methamphetamine tablets, 16 kg heroin, 1,375 kg ganja (cannabis) and 3.7 kg
hydroponic weed worth over INR 355 crore. Additionally, a total of 32 vehicles
(19 cars and 13 trucks) used for concealing and transporting the illicit drugs
were seized.
The update notified that smuggling of hydroponic weed into
north eastern region by air passenger is a new trend. Hydroponic weed is said
to be a type of marijuana that is obtained from the cannabis plants that are
not grown in the conventional method on soil but grown in nutrient-rich water.
It maintained that the directorate is relentlessly pursuing
to tackle the menace of drug smuggling and trafficking in the north eastern
region and trying to dismantle the network of drug dealers and syndicates in
the region.
Highlighting most recent cases, it stated that on January
19, during a major operation by the DRI against organised drug syndicates
operating in the NER, a total of 26 kg methamphetamine tablets smuggled into
India through the Indo-Myanmar border in Mizoram was seized at Dwarband Bazaar
area of Cachar district in Assam.
The drug consignment was said to have been transported in a
specially built cavity in an Ashok Leyland truck. It stated that the operation
was assisted by personnel of Assam Rifles at Silchar.
The value of the seized drug in the international illicit
drug market was estimated at INR 26 crore. It stated that one person was
arrested in this connection and booked under the Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances (NPDS) Act, 1985.
In a separate case on January 20, the DRI seized 6 kg
methamphetamine tablets, having value of INR 6 crore, from a truck in the
outskirts of Agartala in Tripura. The drug was found concealed beneath the
dashboard of the truck.
It stated that two persons have been arrested in this
connection and a case has been filed with the competent courts under the NDPS
Act.
