SHILLONG:
Assuring that the Meghalaya police is committed to eradicate drug menace from the state, Director General of Police (DGP) Lajja Ram Bishnoi declared an all-out war against drugs and informed that the police seized 676 gm of heroin worth Rs 1 crore in the international market from East Jaintia and East Khasi Hills, on June 30. The state police also held six persons in connection with the seizure.
“Our war against drugs will continue and Meghalaya police is fully committed to eradicate this menace from the state. Our operation on all sensitive routes will continue unabated till this problem is fully tackled,” said Bishnoi, addressing the press, on June 30.
Bishnoi informed that the police initially intercepted a bus (ML 05 L 7887) coming from Silchar to Shillong and arrested two persons, Garry Kharnaior (30), resident of Mawlai Bus Stand and Kmenlang Shabong (20), Mawlai Mawdatbaki, Shillong. From their possession, the police seized two bags containing heroin in 60 soap cases wrapped in black polythene and 30 strips of Nitrazepam tablets.
During preliminary interrogation, the suspects revealed that one person by the name of Marvin Jyrwa, was the main financier of the entire illegal contraband and that he was waiting to receive the illegal contraband at Mawryngkneng. Accordingly, a team was sent to Mawryngkneng and they intercepted and detained Jyrwa along with his three associates, namely Meibifil Buam (22), Khrawboklang Kharkongor (29) and Aiborlang Laitmon (28).
The DGP also said that a case under Narcotics Drungs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act has been registered and investigation is ongoing.
Bishnoi also added that often the kingpin manages to escape the police dragnet since they either operate from outside the state or from outside the country, such as Myanmar.
“This is a trans-national problem and we have been collaborating through the joint coordination committees which has a mechanism to share information instantly,” Bishnoi said.
The DGP also said that there should be a four-pronged strategy to fight drug menace – awareness about it, capacity building of police officers, enforcement and rehabilitation of the drug addicts.
When asked about purchase of drugs via the dark web and if the state police have come across such cases in Meghalaya, the DGP said that online sale cannot be ruled out, but, so far, they have not come across such cases in the state.
“We have recently sent two to three of our officers to Guwahati for training so that they would know how the dark web operates. The dark web isn’t an easy thing to understand,” Bishnoi said.
Urging the people to join the war waged by the Meghalaya police against drug menace, Bishnoi said, “I appeal to all sections of the society to come forward and share any inputs on drug abuse with the police. We will maintain the confidentiality and prompt action will be taken.”
The DGP also felicitated Additional SP Banraplang Jyrwa and 35 other police personnel, who were part of the joint operation that led to the arrest of the drug suppliers. All were presented with the DGP’s commendation certificates.
“The operation will continue. As a matter of policy, we have decided that whoever will do good work from the police or the intelligence branch, they will be instantly rewarded,” he said.
Meanwhile, the DGP also announced that the state police will come up with a mobile app to improve collection of intelligence inputs within the next 10-15 days.
“We will launch this app in July and after that we are expecting that we will get many intelligence inputs from the public as well,” he said.