KANGPOKPI, Nov 24: In a major crackdown on narcotics, Manipur police arrested a village chief and destroyed a large poppy cultivation area in two separate operations across Kangpokpi district, officials said.
A joint police team apprehended Lunkhohao Kipgen (43), Chief of Gunphaibung village under Saikul police station, during a raid at Bongmoul village on November 23. Authorities recovered 986 grams of opium and a mobile phone from his possession. Police stated that the arrest was part of an ongoing effort to dismantle local drug networks.
In a separate anti-narcotics drive on November 22, security forces along with the Forest Department and the Narcotics Control Bureau carried out a sweeping poppy destruction operation in the hill ranges of Kotlen village under Kangpokpi police station. The team cleared around 41 acres of illegal poppy cultivation, also dismantling 23 makeshift huts used by cultivators.
Personnel seized nine bags of fertiliser, 11 packets of herbicide, four bags of salt, and various cultivation tools from the site.
