Imphal: Anti-Narcotic Task Forces (ANTF) of the Manipur Police, with the assistance of the CRPF, Assam Rifles, and Forest officials, arrested an alleged peddler along with 16.6 kilograms of raw opium during a joint operation in Manipur’s Churachandpur district.
The Manipur Police morning bulletin issued on Sunday reported that, acting on inputs from various sources about drug peddlers operating in vulnerable areas of the district, the joint team launched the operation on Saturday.
During the operation, an alleged peddler, later identified as Nang Lian Siam (35), a resident of ZMA Road, Vengnuam, New Lamka, Churachandpur, was arrested from the Behiang side along Tiddim Road under Singngat Police Station in Churachandpur district.
The illegal items were found packed in 16 plastic polythene bags. He was booked under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. In Manipur, the illegal market value of raw opium is around Rs 2,000 per kilogram.
Meanwhile, the Kangpokpi district administration reported that a combined team of security forces, the NCB, and the Forest Department destroyed 306 acres of illicit poppy cultivation.
During a week-long poppy destruction drive at various locations under Saikul Police Station in Kangpokpi district from January 12 to 17, 2026, a total of 43 temporary huts were burnt down.
Besides this, several spray pumps, pipes, salts, pesticides, and herbicides found at the sites were also destroyed.
The report added that although no arrests were made during the operation, several cases were registered under the NDPS Act.
Additionally, one acre of a fully grown poppy field can yield an average of approximately 25 kg of raw opium in the legal Indian market, fetching a price of around Rs 45,000 to Rs 87,500 at government-fixed rates.