Drug haul worth Rs 10 Cr in Cachar; five held in back-to-back raids

Silchar, May 25: In a major breakthrough in its crackdown on inter-state drug trafficking, Cachar police have arrested five individuals and seized heroin worth ₹10 crore in separate operations over the past 48 hours.

Cachar SP Numal Mahatta said that three of the five suspects were arrested during an operation at Sonabarighat, Silchar, on Sunday.

“Acting on credible information, police launched a special operation and intercepted a vehicle coming from Churachandpur (Manipur),” he said, adding that two of the three arrested are women.

During the raid, police seized 105 soap cases containing suspected heroin concealed in secret compartments of the vehicle.

“The total weight of the suspected narcotics is about 1.239 kg, valued at ₹6.5 crore in the international black market. Further investigation is ongoing,” Mahatta added.

Earlier, on Friday, police had arrested a 29-year-old and recovered 84 grams of suspected heroin from near the District Sports Association in Silchar. A preliminary detection test confirmed it as heroin, officials said.

A day prior, in another special operation, police arrested a resident of Bihar and recovered 622 grams of suspected heroin.

“The international black market value of the seized substance is about ₹3.11 crore,” the SP said.

With these arrests, Cachar police have apprehended 15 individuals in connection with inter-state drug trafficking over the past 30 days.

In April, police had busted an inter-state racket, arresting 10 traffickers in coordinated raids and seizing a significant quantity of suspected heroin. Preliminary investigations indicated links to a trafficking network operating out of neighbouring Mizoram, SP Mahatta had said.

On March 25, authorities had confiscated 60,000 Yaba tablets—estimated to be worth ₹20 crore—near the Mizoram border.

Police officials said Cachar is frequently used as a transit point by traffickers from neighbouring states.