OUR CORRESPONDENT
DIGBOI: Intensifying its relentless offensive against the narcotics trade, Digboi police have dealt yet another blow to drug traffickers by arresting a suspected heroin peddler on Friday, barely 24 hours after busting a cannabis smuggling racket involving the seizure of over three kilograms of ganja. The twin intelligence-led operations, resulting in the arrest of three alleged peddlers, have exposed what investigators suspect to be a wider inter-district drug supply network operating across Upper Assam.
The latest operation was carried out near the AOD Auto Stand in Digboi, where police, acting on credible intelligence, apprehended Biplab Sonowal alias Mon (19 years), son of Ajay Sonowal of Borbeel No. 3 under Digboi police station.
A thorough search led to the recovery of four tobacco containers and a small plastic vial containing suspected heroin weighing 2.49 grams (net weight). Police also seized a syringe with an attached needle, one LVIX keypad mobile phone with a SIM card, one itel keypad mobile phone with two SIM cards, and a black polythene sheet allegedly used for concealing the contraband. The accused was arrested on the spot, and a case under the relevant provisions of the NDPS Act has been registered. The fresh seizure comes close on the heels of Thursday’s major breakthrough, when Digboi police intercepted a white Hyundai i10 (Registration No. AS05L8866) at Balijan Gaon on the Digboi-Duliajan Road and foiled an alleged cannabis trafficking attempt.
The vehicle, travelling from Bhadoi Panchali in Duliajan towards Digboi, was intercepted following specific intelligence inputs. Its occupants, Akon Hazarika (55 years) and Biplab Boro (25 years), both residents of Betoni Gaon under Duliajan police station in Dibrugarh district, were taken into custody after a search allegedly yielded two packets of suspected cannabis weighing 2.078 kg and 1.056 kg, with a combined net weight of 3.134 kg.
Apart from the narcotics, investigators seized two mobile phones, Rs 2,750 in cash, and the Hyundai i10 allegedly used for transporting the contraband. The seized articles were taken into custody after completing all legal formalities.
Also Read: Seven illegal sawmills demolished, timber-laden truck seized in major Digboi forest crackdown