Imphal, Feb 6: Manipur Police, in coordination with security forces, intensified their anti-narcotics drive across the state on February 5, destroying extensive illegal poppy plantations and arresting a drug courier in separate operations.
Officials said that a major portion of the action was carried out in Ukhrul district, where security teams uprooted and destroyed around 185 acres of illicit poppy cultivation spread across the Khamashom Hill Range and the Leingangching Hill Range in the Mapithel area. During the operation, two temporary huts set up at the plantation sites were also demolished, indicating organised attempts to sustain illegal farming activities in remote hill locations.
On the same day, another coordinated operation was conducted in Tengnoupal district. Police teams cleared nearly 20 acres of illegal poppy fields from the hill range of Khudei Khullen, which falls under the jurisdiction of Tengnoupal police station. Authorities said the destruction of these plantations was part of ongoing efforts to dismantle drug production networks operating in difficult terrain.
In a separate development, Manipur Police intercepted a suspected drug courier along National Highway-2. At the T Khullen Naka Check Point under Senapati police station, personnel stopped a TVS NTORQ 125 scooter and arrested the rider, identified as 21-year-old Subash Tamang of Sadim Nepali in Senapati district. During a search, police recovered 334 grams of opium and seized a mobile phone from his possession.
Senior police officials said the series of operations reflect a sustained and intensified campaign against illegal poppy cultivation and narcotics trafficking in Manipur’s hill districts. They reiterated that such coordinated actions would continue to disrupt drug supply chains and curb the spread of narcotics-related activities in the state.
