A combined team of 38th Assam Rifles and narcotic cell, Imphal East apprehended two drug peddlers along with heroin powder and WY tablets worth over Rs 2.3 lakh on two different occasions on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

The apprehended persons have been identified as one Md Nurshad, 20, son of Md Babul Ali of Pangong Makhong, Imphal East and Md Ina, 33, son of Md Ayazuddin of Mana Ingkhol, Imphal East.

In this regard, officer-in-charge, narcotic cell, Imphal East, Kh Devkumar held a press conference held at his office located at Porompat police station, Imphal East on Wednesday.

He said that based on specific information about selling of drugs at night in the area of Naharup Pangong Makhong on Tuesday at about 11.50 pm, a combined team of 38th Assam Rifles led by naib subedar Ashok Kumar along with two team of narcotic cell, Imphal East and some members of Youth Athletic Development Association, Khergao (YADA) under the supervision of major Piyush Verma rushed to the said area at about 1.30 am of Wednesday. When the combined team approached the spot one youth was found standing holding a black polythene carry bag at a waiting shed of Pangong Makhong, he added.

The team detained the person and the person identified himself as Md Nurshad during verification. The team conducted body search in the presence of a gazetted officer along with two civilians as witness. During the body search, six soap cases suspected to contain heroin powder were found in the polythene bag. However, the detainee escaped from the hold of the combined team by taking the advantage of dark night, Devkumar said.

The team then conducted a cordon and search operation at the house of Nurshad who was found sleeping, he said. Using testing kits, the seized substance was confirmed to be heroin powder weighing about 80 grams without the container. The person has been formally arrested and the heroin powder was seized at the spot in the presence of a gazetted officer and witnesses at 2.30 am by making a formal seizure memo.

On preliminary verification at the spot Nurshad disclosed that he works as a drug transporter of his cousin Md Altaf alias Bungo, 32, son of Md Rashid Ali (former additional superintendent of police, Manipur). He further disclosed that following a call from Bungo he delivered the said drug to one of his customers.

Meanwhile, the same 38th Assam Rifles detained one person in a waiting shed of Pheidinga junction at about 11 pm on Tuesday.

During verification in the presence of a gazetted officer, the person identified himself as Md Ina. During body search, two soap cases and three tiny polythene packets blue in colour were found from his possession. On verification using testing kits, the powder contained in the soap cases were verified as heroin powder and the blue packets contained 610 tablets marked as “WY”, he added.

On preliminary verification, Ina disclosed that he was waiting for interested customers to sell the said drugs. He bought the said drugs from one Amjar, 33, of Sora, Kakching district. The person was arrested and the said drugs found from his possession were seized.

For the two different occasions, separate cases were registered at the police station concerned, Devkumar said.