West Garo Hills police are on the lookout for members of a drugs gang after one person was arrested with more than 9,600 methamphetamine (yaba) tablets on Friday in a major drugs bust.
Acting on a tip-off that a gang of inter-state smugglers were transporting contraband narcotic substances across the Meghalaya-Assam border, the Anti Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) sprung into action and set up checkpoints at several junctions on the Phulbari-Rajabala-Hallidayganj Road.
At one of the checkpoints the ANTF stopped a 32-year-old resident of a village near Rajabala, who was travelling on a motorbike. During a search of the suspect, police recovered a total of 9,623 methamphetamine tablets weighing nearly a kilogramme.
According to sources, the person arrested was transporting the drugs to another link in the supply chain. Police did not rule out that the drugs’ destination could have been Bangladesh, as the area in which the man was arrested is close to the international border.
“We have registered an FIR under appropriate sections of the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act. Our initial investigation has pointed to a gang that has been running a drug smuggling racket between the states of Assam and Meghalaya. Our efforts are on to nab the rest of the criminal gang,” said Superintendent of Police, M G R Kumar.
Garo Hills police have been extremely active in the fight against drugs, which has led to many petty as well as major drug peddlers falling into the police net in the past year across the five districts, with the latest being the arrest of two peddlers from within Tura a few days ago.
Meanwhile the police appealed to residents to be aware of the drug abuse menace and to report any such suspicious activities. They added that there was also a need to exercise precaution and join hands with the police to save children and youth from becoming victims to drug abuse.
