In Assam, anti-war drug smuggling drive, drugs worth over 3 crore rupees seized in Guwahati, Chief Minister Himanta praises police
by Bhupen Goswami
GUWAHATI : The ongoing drive against drug trafficking in Assam could break the back of separatist organisations operating in north-eastern India. According to security agencies, drugs, weapons and human trafficking are the main sources of funding of separatist organisations operating in North East India. The real reason behind the bloody clashes on the assam and mizoram border is also believed to be assam’s campaign and chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had openly hinted at it.
A senior security agency official said Assam has become the main drug destination for drug trafficking in India through the Golden Triangle of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand in the last several decades.Drugs are transported from Myanmar to Assam via Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland and are transported from here to north-eastern states as well as other parts of India. There are active camps of various separatist groups in the bordering Myanmar region, which are helpful to smugglers. According to an intelligence report, 25 per cent of the total drug consumption is in the North Eastern States and 75 per cent is transported to other parts of India. In the same episode, a consignment of heroin was recovered from Hijubri area of Guwahati in a joint operation by Guwahati police and Kamrup police. According to reports, there was an encounter between the police and the drug smugglers but four drug smugglers managed to escape. It is feared that a drug smuggler was injured during the encounter. The market price of the recovered medicines has been estimated at Rs 3 crore.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma shared the photographs of the recovered heroin and appreciated the efforts of Guwahati and Kamrup police. Chief Minister Sarma said that during the operation, a joint police team managed to recover 0.5 kg of heroin in Hizubari. Chief Minister Sarma tweeted that “It’s huge! A joint operation by Guwahati and Kamrup police has recovered 0.5 kg of heroin in Hijubri. Keep doing good work”. Guwahati police shared chief minister Sarma’s tweet and thanked the CM and said that the drive against drugs was led by the Joint Commissioner of Police of Guwahati and Deputy Commissioner of Police (HQ) of Kamrup. Guwahati police tweeted that “Thank you for your kind words, sir! We assure you once again that we are committed to taking this threat from our beloved State to a logical conclusion. Today’s operation was led by Joint CP, Guwahati and DSP, HQ Kamrup (R). It may be recalled that after Himanta Biswa Sarma became the Chief Minister, a war footing operation has been launched against smugglers in Assam. The magnitude of the operation can be gauged from the fact that 2418 people have been arrested in 1449 cases till 8th August this year.
