Sustained anti-narcotics drives across Manipur’s hill districts have resulted in the destruction of more than 200 acres of illicit poppy cultivation over three days, signalling a renewed push by security agencies to counter the state’s entrenched drug economy.
Security Forces, working alongside state departments, cleared roughly 113 acres of poppy fields on November 14 in Ukhrul district. The operations spanned the Lamlai Chingphei, Thawai Kuki (Mapithel), Phalee, Tora and Kachai Thikor hill ranges. Ten makeshift farm huts used by cultivators were dismantled during the exercise.
A day earlier, on November 13, personnel from multiple agencies, including the Forest Department, eradicated nearly 35 acres of poppy plantations at Mullam Hill Range under Litan Police Station in Ukhrul. Three huts were removed from the site.
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In Kangpokpi district, around 56 acres of illegal cultivation were eliminated on November 12 in areas adjoining Thonglang Akutpa, Songjang Hill Ranges and Awlmun village under Kangchup Police Station. Teams also destroyed nineteen huts along with ten bags of fertiliser and nine sacks of salt found at the locations.
The anti-narcotics drive also led to an arrest. On November 14, Security Forces intercepted two alleged drug traffickers, Raju Ali and Aynul Haque of Kamrup, Assam, at the Maram check post in Senapati district. A four-wheeler and 18.2 kg of opium were seized.
Officials said these operations form part of an intensified campaign to suppress drug trafficking networks and dismantle poppy cultivation in the state. They maintained that continued action is essential to protecting communities vulnerable to the drug trade’s widening social impact.
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