Shillong, Aug 21: Meghalaya police have seized drugs worth over Rs 400 crore in the past five years.
After felicitating eight Anti Narcotic Task Force (ANTF) personnel on Thursday in the wake of the seizure of drugs worth Rs 4 crore in East Jaintia Hills district, Social Welfare Minister Paul Lyngdoh said that while combating narcotics, the seizure of drugs for the last 5 years is worth Rs 412 crore.
The number of arrested persons during the period is 1061.
“The total seizure 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 the last five years,” Superintendent of Police (SP) of the Anti-Narcotic Task Force (ANTF) Giri Prasad told reporters.
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, and 1.74 lakh bottles of codeine cough syrup were seized in the state.
The official admitted an increasing trend in drug trafficking cases from 2023 to 2025. This year alone, 100 persons were arrested.
Prasad said 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 said due to intensified checking, some traffickers are exploring alternative routes to supply to other states.
Cases have increased, but we have been very successful in seizures in recent years,” Prasad said.
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 ANTFs in all the districts, but Ri Bhoi and East Jaintia, being the entry and exit points for the main national highway are vulnerable to drug transportation. We are closely working with the ANTFs of the respective districts, he said.
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, he said.
The recent seizure of Rs 4 crore worth of contraband in a single day was a joint operation between the ANTF and East Jaintia Hills district police.
The social welfare minister expressed confidence that the state will triumph over drug trafficking, drawing parallels with its past success in quelling insurgency just by using its police force, without calling in the army, unlike other states in the region.
According to Lyngdoh, the fight against drugs is akin to “kill or be killed”.
“We either succumb to it or we emerge victorious. We either become victims or we turn out to be victors. I am sure that Meghalaya will turn victorious.
As 65% of the state’s residents are below the age of 35, they are easily lured into the traps of drugs and other substances of abuse.
The minister stressed on the DREAM mission’s multidimensional roles, which involve close coordination between various departments, including home police, social welfare, education, health, and law. This coordinated approach aims to tackle the drug menace comprehensively.
Lyngdoh expressed his appreciation for the ANTF’s dedication and bravery in breaking the backbone of the supply chain, which has been a significant challenge due to Meghalaya’s geographical location as a lucrative transit point.
