IMPHAL: The Manipur police on Saturday arrested a 35-year-old man with over 16 kg of opium in the state’s Churachandpur district, police said.
Police said Nang Lian Siam (35) of New Lamka area of Churachandpur was arrested from Tiddim Road in Churachandpur district.
The arrest comes amid a week-long drive to destroy illicit poppy cultivation at various locations under Saikul police station in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district. A joint team of security forces, Narcotics Control Bureau and the forest department have destroyed 306 acres of illicit poppy cultivation.
In a post on X, the Manipur police said 43 temporary huts, along with spray pumps, pipes, salts, pesticides, and herbicides found at the sites, were also destroyed.
In December last year, security forces arrested four drug dealers along with 12,50,000 WY Yaba tablets weighing around 147 kg in Manipur’s Jiribam district which borders Assam in December last year.
The seizures follow Manipur governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla’s directions at a state-level conference in December to strengthen surveillance using drones and AI-based tools to fulfil the nation’s commitment to a drug-free society.