IMPHAL: The police in Manipur have arrested three persons from Assam and two Village Defence Force (VDF) personnel in connection with a drugs seizure case.
They were arrested from different places in Manipur along with 3.69 kg of brown sugar worth around Rs 4 crores in the international market.
Nexus between the errant VDF personnel and drug smugglers from Assam came to light when the three smugglers from Assam were arrested at Maram on the NH02 Imphal – Dimapur along with the contraband drugs on their way to Dimapur from Imphal in Manipur.
Following interrogations, the smugglers from Assam told the police that they got help from the VDF personnel in smuggling the drugs after paying Rs 1 lakh to them.
Upon their information, two VDFs involved in the crime have been arrested, and Rs 1 lakh has also been recovered from them, the Manipur police said.
Senapati district police seized 3.69 kg of brown sugar packed in 79 soap cases during an operation near Maram Centre under the Maram police station of the district.
The VDF personnel were later identified as Mohan Kumar (23) and H Solomon (32).
The other three apprehended persons from Assam were Lalpu Singsit, Haogin Lhangum, and Robert Lenthan.
They are reportedly from the Karbi Anglong district in Assam.
The police detained them after the contraband drugs were found in a Tata Safari car, they were traveling in, the Manipur police said.
All the arrested persons and seized drugs, recovered Rs 1 lakh and impounded vehicles have been handed over to the concerned police stations for further legal proceedings, the Manipur police added.