UKHRUL, Dec 18: Security forces, in coordination with the Ukhrul district Forest Department, have destroyed around 140 acres of illegal poppy cultivation in Manipur’s Ukhrul district as part of an intensified anti-narcotics drive, officials said on Wednesday.
The joint operation was carried out on December 17 across several locations, including LM Block, Yaolen Chepu and Lamlai Chingphei. During the drive, large tracts of poppy plantations were identified and completely uprooted. Sixteen makeshift huts, believed to have been used by cultivators and labourers at the plantation sites, were also dismantled and set ablaze as part of the clearance operation.
Authorities said the action forms part of sustained efforts by security agencies to curb illegal drug cultivation and dismantle networks linked to the narcotics trade in Manipur’s hill districts. Officials added that similar operations would continue in vulnerable areas to prevent the resurgence of poppy cultivation.
Meanwhile, in a separate operation on December 16, security forces arrested an active cadre of the banned outfit SOREPA from Lamding Nashikhong Leikai under Thoubal Police Station in Thoubal district. The arrested individual was identified as Khundrakpam Bitanjit Meitei alias Tomcha (31), a resident of Heirok Part-II, Laimayum, Thoubal district. A mobile phone along with a SIM card was seized from his possession.
