Meghalaya Police seize Rs 412 Cr in drugs; 1061 arrested in 5 years

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaAugust 21, 2025

In a significant stride in its war against narcotics, the state police have seized drugs worth over Rs 400 crore and arrested 1061 individuals involved in the illicit trade over the past five years.

“The total seizures value is more than Rs 412 crore so far of which we have already destroyed half of them in the East Jaintia Hills’ Star cement factory. 1061 persons have been arrested in last five years,” Superintendent of Police (SP) of the Anti-Narcotic Task Force (ANTF) Giri Prasad told reporters on Thursday.

41,000 grams of heroin, 12716 kgs of ganja, 2 kgs of opium, 76 kgs of yaba tablets, 14 kgs of crystal meth,

16 kgs of other psychotropic substances, 1.74 lakh bottles of codeine cough syrup were seized in the state.

Prasad reported an increasing trend in drug trafficking cases from 2023 to 2025 said close to 100 arrests were made this year alone.

According to SP ANTF, there are two types of trafficking: consumer-based, targeting Meghalaya’s youth, and transit-based, where drugs are smuggled through the state to other destinations.

He revealed that due to intensified checking, some traffickers are exploring alternative routes to supply to other states.

“…those kinds of cases have increased and we have been very successful in those seizures in the recent years,” Prasad stated.

The ANTF has been focusing on entry and exit points, particularly in Ri Bhoi and East Jaintia Hills districts, where large quantities of drugs are smuggled into the state.

“There are district ANTFs in all the districts but Ri Bhoi and East Jaintia being the entry and exit points for the main national highway so it is more vulnerable for drug transportation. We are closely working with the ANTFs of the respective districts.

If you see the seizures in recent times, we have been focusing on the entry and exit points because the drug seizures are huge in both these districts…,” Prasad said.

He added that the recent seizure of Rs 4 crore contrabands in a single day was a joint operation between the ANTF and East Jaintia Hills district police.

The ANTF is expecting to receive K9 units in November, which will enhance their capabilities in detecting narcotics.