In a significant crackdown on the illicit drug trade, the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) in Meghalaya’s Ri-Bhoi district arrested two individuals and seized 32.64 grams of suspected heroin in two separate interceptions on Monday night.
The first interception took place at around 7 pm when the ANTF set up a naka at Umiam, acting on information from a confidential source. The team intercepted a vehicle bearing registration number AS 01 AV 1166 at Lad Umiam, and detained the driver, Allan Marwein of Mawlai Nongkwar, Block 13, who was returning to Shillong from Guwahati after allegedly procuring heroin.
A search of the vehicle, conducted in the presence of two independent witnesses, yielded a soap box containing a yellow-orange powder, which tested positive for heroin in a preliminary field test. The suspected contraband weighed 10.93 grams.
In a separate interception at around 11 pm, the ANTF team stopped a suspected scooter bearing registration number ML 05 AB 9546 travelling towards Shillong. The rider, identified as Jaziel Nongjop Syiem, attempted to flee but was detained by the team on suspicion of drug peddling.
A body search, conducted in the presence of two independent witnesses, recovered two soap cases containing yellow-orange powder suspected to be heroin from inside Syiem’s jacket. A preliminary field test returned positive for heroin, and the suspected contraband weighed 21.71 grams.
The two seizures together amounted to 32.64 grams of suspected heroin. Further legal proceedings in both cases are underway under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, according to the ANTF.
