Itanagar, Aug 6: In a major crackdown on drug trafficking, Namsai District Police arrested an alleged drug peddler and seized 82 grams of suspected heroin valued at about Rs 16.40 lakh in the illicit market during a raid at Solungtoo village.
The accused, identified as Osina Chautang, a resident of Solungtoo village, was apprehended following a search operation conducted on the basis of specific intelligence inputs.
The operation was led by Deputy Superintendent of Police and Namsai SDPO Kengo Dirchi and included Officer-in-Charge of Namsai Police Station, Inspector T Gadi, SI Sanjay Kumar, LSI S Thoumoung, and other police personnel.
Police said the information was reduced to writing and communicated to the Superintendent of Police in compliance with Section 42 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, before the team proceeded to conduct the raid. The search was carried out in the presence of two independent witnesses, including executive members of the All Namsai Area Youth Association (ANAYA), and the entire operation was videographed through the e-Sakshya application to ensure transparency.
During the search, police recovered 82 grams of suspected heroin along with other incriminating articles, which were seized following due legal procedure. A case has been registered at Namsai Police Station under the relevant provisions of the NDPS Act, 1985.
During preliminary interrogation, the accused reportedly disclosed that the suspected contraband had been procured from outside the district for further distribution. Police said the disclosure is being verified, and further investigation is underway to identify the source of the drugs, trace forward and backward linkages, and dismantle the wider trafficking network.
The operation was carried out under the overall supervision of Superintendent of Police Sangey Thinley.
Reiterating its zero-tolerance policy against narcotic drugs, the district police appealed to the public to continue sharing credible information on drug trafficking and other criminal activities, assuring that the identity of informants would be kept strictly confidential.