Anti-narcotics police made two separate arrests of suspected drug dealers at the same spot at Nongsning, East Jaintia Hills, today.
Police set up a mobile checkpoint at Nongsning based on credible information that a peddler would be proceeding towards Shillong from Aizawl with illegal contraband.
At around 5pm, the suspect, Shokhothang Touthang (41), was detained and found to be carrying 26 soap cases containing a yellowish-orange powder amounting to 278.03g, which then tested positive for heroin. Two mobile phones and Rs 2,100 were also seized from his possession.
Barely an hour later, at 6:15pm, with police continuing to check vehicles passing through the spot, a Mahindra Scorpio driven by one Sujit Paul (31) tried to evade the police but was detained.
During questioning, Paul revealed that he was carrying contraband in the vehicle that he was taking to Shillong. Accordingly, a search uncovered 33 soap boxes containing heroin in the boot weighing 353.34g. Two mobile phones and Rs 4,700 in cash was also seized, along with the Mizoram-registered vehicle (MZ 01 D 6525).