Meghalaya police said on March 7 that a coordinated naka-checking operation on March 6 in the Ratacherra area of East Jaintia Hills resulted in the state’s largest recorded drug seizure, with narcotics estimated at around Rs 51.13 crore and two arrests. The operation was conducted jointly by the state police and the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF).
Officers intercepted a vehicle carrying three people during the checkpoint — a naka is a roadside checkpoint or roadblock used by police to screen vehicles. The vehicle was searched following due legal procedures. During the search, officers recovered 19 plastic soap cases containing suspected heroin weighing about 203.7 grams from one of the occupants.
A further check uncovered a blue trolley bag belonging to another passenger; inside the bag officials found suspected crystal methamphetamine tablets weighing approximately 10.145 kilograms. Methamphetamine tablets are banned in India. Two of the three occupants were arrested at the scene.
ANTF chief Vikash Kumar told PTI that preliminary investigations indicate the arrested persons are residents of Mizoram and that the accused are likely part of an interstate and cross-border drug trafficking network. “The arrested persons are residents of Mizoram,” Kumar said, adding that further investigations are underway.
A case has been registered at the ANTF police station, and authorities are working to establish the forward and backward linkages of the trafficking network involved in the operation. Police said forensic testing and additional inquiries will continue as they trace sources and destinations connected to the seizure.
