Shillong, Sep 26 (Reporter) Meghalaya has become the transit route for smuggling of drugs from trouble-torn Manipur to other parts of India. “Due to ethnic unrest in the state of Manipur, the Meghalaya route (from Jiribam to Silchar to Meghalaya to Assam and other parts of India) is being used for smuggling of Methamphetamine, Heroin and Morphine,” Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityananda Rai said. “As far as the flow of narcotic drugs is concerned, Meghalaya has been a transit route for smuggling of ganja from Tripura to other parts of the country and drugs like CBC (Codeine based cough syrup) from other parts of India to Tripura and later to Bangladesh,” Rai said in a letter to opposition Congress Lok Sabha member Saleng Sangma. In a letter to the Union Minister, Sangma who represents Tura Lok Sabha seat from Meghalaya had expressed concerns on the rise in smuggling and drugs from Meghalaya and sought the Union Ministry of Home Affairs intervention into the matter. Rai informed that in the past five years, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has conducted operations along with other Drug Law Enforcement Agencies (DLEAs), resulting in significant seizures and arrests disrupting supply chain of illicit drugs, thereby reducing their availability in the region. “Financial investigation and detention under the PITNDPS Act, 1988, has been a tool to break the backbone of drug gangs in the region,” the Union Minister said, adding that the field units of NCB has been instructed to be extra vigilant to deal with drug trafficking in the region. In the last five years, Rai said the NCB Guwahati zonal unit has seized 38,807 kg of ganja and 2,09,906 bottles of CBCS (codeine based cough syrup) from Tripura, which were to be smuggled into Bangladesh. In a recent operation on July 23, 2024 at Silchar, NCB Guwahati zonal unit has seized 6.790 kg of Methamphetamine tablets from a Bolero car which was destined for Coach-Behar and Shillong, Meghalaya, he said. The Union Minister said two new NCB zonal units have been established in Agartala with jurisdiction over Tripura and Mizoram and Itanagar with jurisdiction over Arunachal Pradesh to effectively combat drug trafficking in the Northeast, improve coordination among agencies and enhance the overall safety of the community. In addition to the NCB’s existing Guwahati zone with jurisdiction over Assam and Meghalaya, Rai said the Imphal sub-zonal unit has been upgraded to Imphal zonal unit with jurisdiction over Manipur and Nagaland. Additionally, a regional office under the Deputy Director General (NER), NCB has been established in Guwahati to monitor the achievements of the operations of the NCB’s zonal units in the region. Rai said the NCORD (Narco Coordination Centre) mechanism has been strengthened across the Northeast for effective coordination among all stakeholders...////...