Correspondent
IMPHAL, Jun 16: Manipur chief minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh asserted that his government is firmly committed to dismantling drug networks and advancing a drug-free Manipur, in a post of his official social media handles.
The chief minister chaired a Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) meeting at his secretariat today.
The meeting attended by state home minister Govindas Konthoujam, DGP Mukesh Singh, security adviser Kuldeip Singh, senior officials of Assam Rifles, BSF, CRPF, and other stakeholders, reviewed measures to strengthen intelligence sharing, inter-agency coordination, and enforcement efforts against drug trafficking and substance abuse.
The meeting also discussed measures to strengthen cooperation among law enforcement and security agencies to effectively tackle the drug menace and prevent substance abuse, particularly among the youth, an official source said. Ways to improve operational coordination and enforcement capabilities as part of the state’s ongoing anti-drug campaign was also deliberated, it added.
Tuesday’s NCORD meeting was the first time after Y Khemchand Singh assumed office as the chief minister of the state.
The last such meeting, held during the President’s Rule, on November 18 last year was chaired by the Manipur Governor as the head of state administration.
The meeting had reviewed the scale and emerging trends of narcotics trafficking, illicit poppy and cannabis cultivation, and drug abuse in Manipur, drawing from detailed presentations by the Police, NAB, and line departments. The NCORD is a mechanism established by the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) to coordinate between various Central and state stakeholders on matters related to drug law enforcement and the prevention of drug trafficking and abuse in India.
Meanwhile, arrests of alleged drug peddlers with large quantities of the narcotic drugs continued across the state. Amid the frequent arrest of drug peddlers with narcotic drugs in operations by the security forces, two major drug haul cases were reported in the last few days.
On Sunday, a joint team of Manipur police and security forces intercepted 15.350 kg opium while conducting a check to a “fake Army vehicle” at a security check post along NH-102 (Imphal-Dimapur section) at T Khullen under Senapati police station in Senapati district.
The second major drug bust in Manipur was made in Thoubal district on June 12 last. In the operation, the security forces arrested an alleged drug trafficker with 17.9 kilograms of heroin worth crores recovered during a raid on his house.
Further on Monday, the Anti-Narcotic Cell of the Manipur police, with the assistance of the Central security forces arrested four alleged peddlers and recovered suspected brown sugar during a separate joint operation in Manipur’s Churachandpur district.