5 drug peddlers from Manipur, associate held in Guwahati

Guwahati, Nov 19 (PTI) The Guwahati Police claimed to have busted an inter-state drug cartel, arresting five peddlers hailing from Manipur, including two women, and recovering nearly Rs 2.5 crore worth of heroin.

Another person, believed to be an associate of the peddlers, has also been apprehended, a senior police officer said. Guwahati Police Commissioner Diganta Barah said teams were formed to nab them from different locations of the city on Saturday night.

In the first operation, three drug peddlers from Manipur - two from Imphal West and one from Senapati district - were apprehended near a private hospital in Dispur area after getting a tip-off, he said.

"From their possession, the team recovered 24 soap boxes containing suspected heroin, weighing about 280 gm. Their interrogation is underway and necessary legal action is being initiated," Barah said.

In the second case, the West District Police in Guwahati arrested one person when he came to buy heroin packets from two women drug peddlers, hailing from Manipur.

"With his help, we nabbed the women from a hotel in Lalmati and during searches, recovered 20 packets of soap cases containing heroin along with Rs 22,400 in cash from them," Barah said.

After interrogation of the two women, police raided another hotel on TRP Road at Machkhowa and recovered Rs 1,50,000 cash from a room.

"Efforts are on to nab other associates," the police commissioner said. PTI TR TR RBT