BSF, Manipur Police seize narcotics worth over Rs 15 crore: Official

Kolkata, Sep 18 (PTI) The Border Security Force (BSF) and Manipur Police have seized narcotics worth over Rs 15 crore, including one lakh Yaba tablets, in Tengnoupal district, an official said here on Thursday.

In two separate operations along the Tengnoupal–Imphal Highway (NH-102), BSF personnel of Manipur sector on Wednesday, in coordination with the local police, intercepted narcotics consignments concealed inside modified fuel tanks of vehicles, he said.

In one of the seizures, one lakh Yaba tablets, a synthetic drug, were recovered and one drug peddler was arrested after the border guards intercepted a van travelling from Moreh on the India-Myanmar border towards Pallel at a checkpoint, the BSF official said.

A joint inspection by BSF personnel and Manipur police at Tengnoupal police station led to the recovery of 50 packets containing approximately 100,000 Yaba tablets, the estimated market value of which is Rs 15 crore, he said in a statement.

Yaba, meaning crazy medicine in Thai, is illegal in the country because it contains methamphetamine, a Schedule II substance under the Controlled Substances Act, and caffeine.

The troops also seized 125 gm of brown sugar, concealed in soap cases inside the fuel tank, and apprehended one man at the same location from another van, the BSF official said.

The estimated market value of the recovered drug is Rs 37.5 lakh, he said.

The official said that the BSF, in coordination with the local police, have been carrying out intense checks to prevent drugs from entering the illegal market, as part of its anti-narcotics campaign.

Narcotics worth Rs 169.9 crore have been recovered in five major operations under BSF Eastern Command in the last one month, he said.

Additional Director General (ADG), BSF (Eastern Command), Kolkata, Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal, lauded the jawans for exemplary vigilance, courage, and professional excellence and their seamless coordination with Manipur Police.

"Such achievements reaffirm BSF’s unflinching resolve to dismantle narco-terror networks, protect our borders, and safeguard the nation's youth from the devastating effects of drugs," he said. PTI AMR RG