Kohima: The Nagaland Police, on Wednesday busted an alarming modus operandi used by drug traffickers to smuggle illegal substances in the state. This new tactic involves storing illegal substances inside vehicle back lights to transport drugs undetected.
In a significant development, Director General of Police (DGP) Rupin Sharma, while addressing a press conference at the Police Headquarters (PHQ) in Kohima, informed that 12 persons have been arrested for their involvement in a recent drug trafficking case using the new modus operandi.
According to the police chief, a huge cache of contraband was recovered from a vehicle along NH-2 stretch, following which a case was registered at the Zubza Police Station under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
While there have been multiple developments in the state with regard to Narcotics, Sharma said that the November 13 crackdown on drug trafficking stands out as the case not only revealed a new modus operandi but also led to unearthing the drug network.
Explaining the case, the police chief said that initially two persons from Manipur, driving separate vehicles-one as a lead (escort) without drugs and the other with drugs inside the vehicle back light, were arrested by the police after a tip-off was received.
Further investigation unearthed the larger nexus operating in NDPS trafficking spread across various parts of the country including Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Punjab, and Haryana. All 12 arrested persons traced back to Nagaland, Manipur and Assam.
The police suspect that the same network has been smuggling illegal substances for over a year, making nearly 100 undetected trips and transporting an estimated 60 kgs of illegal substances in a year’s time. Bank records of the persons who were initially arrested revealed a transaction of about Rs 6-7 crore.
While the case is still under investigation, the police chief said that there is possibility of involvement of many other people in this network which shall be unearthed soon, with the main focus being the kingpin.
The identifies of the arrested persons remain undisclosed as the police feared that the others involved will be alerted.
The Nagaland Police sought the participation of all Civil Society organisations to fight the drug menace and lauded the Angami Youth Organisation (AYO) and Angami Students’ Union (ASU) for their assurance to help the Nagaland Police by providing the independent witnesses for evidence collections to ensure that the offenders are convicted for the offences committed by them.
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The Nagaland Police also appealed to the public to extend a helping hand and be cautious because it is easy for the traffickers to befool people into carrying drugs or allowing other measures for facilitating traffickers such as sharing bank accounts, vehicles, courier, courier services, keeping packets in other premises or vehicles and so on, either for money or otherwise, which can make them conspirators.
As per the state police, the focus has now shifted to break the whole nexus operating in the supply chain of NDPS. In this direction, the police said that efforts are made to develop the forward and backward linkages in NDPS cases and apprehending all the persons operating in the network.
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