SHILLONG, April 6: Assam Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said the states in the Northeast are coordinating with one another as they fight the drug menace.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a passing out parade at the North East Police Academy, he said, “We are under the umbrella of national drugs control and there is already a coordinated effort among all police forces in the northeastern region.”
He said there have been incidents when inputs shared by a state led to seizure of drugs and arrest of peddlers. Assam’s BJP-led government has already launched a war against drugs.
“The war against drugs is a coordinated effort and not an isolated one,” he said.
The drugs issue had figured in the budget session of Meghalaya Assembly. Cases registered under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act were 56 in 2017, 81 in 2018, 117 in 2019 and 69 in 2020 and 2021 each, Home Minister, Lahkmen Rymbui had told the House. Stating that 218 charge-sheets have been filed so far in connection with the cases and investigations into 144 cases are pending, he had said, “Some of the notable seizures in the past five years include 12,658.51 grams of heroin, 85.866 grams of Meta Amphetamine or Yaba tablets and 4,439 bottles of phensedyl.”
Last week, the High Court of Meghalaya had directed the General Officer Commanding of the 101 Area and the Director-General of Assam Rifles to verify and take immediate remedial action if drugs are transported in Army trucks which are generally immune to checking.
It was submitted that since Meghalaya falls within the transit route of drugs emanating or going to a neighbouring country, there is a modus operandi being followed and, quite alarmingly, an Army major from Imphal was implicated for facilitating the transit of drugs.
