Shillong, March 7: In the largest drug seizure recorded in Meghalaya so far, state police recovered narcotics worth more than Rs 51 crore in East Jaintia Hills district and arrested two persons in connection with the case, officials said on March 7.
The seizure was made during a coordinated naka-checking operation carried out by the police and the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) in the Ratacherra area on March 6.
According to police officials, a vehicle carrying three occupants, including the driver, was intercepted during the operation. The vehicle was searched following due legal procedures. During the search, officers recovered 19 plastic soap cases containing suspected heroin weighing about 203.7 grams from one of the occupants.
Further checking of the vehicle led to the discovery of a blue trolley bag belonging to another passenger. Inside the bag, officials found suspected crystal methamphetamine tablets weighing around 10.145 kilograms. Methamphetamine tablets are banned in India.
Two of the three occupants of the vehicle were arrested following the seizure. Police said preliminary investigations suggest that the accused are part of an interstate and cross-border drug trafficking network.
Vikash Kumar, chief of the Anti-Narcotics Task Force, said the total value of the seized contraband is estimated at around Rs 51.13 crore. He added that the arrested persons are residents of Mizoram and that further investigations are underway.
A case has been registered at the ANTF police station, and authorities are now working to establish the forward and backward linkages of the trafficking network involved in the operation.
