A team of Goalpara district police in Assam arrested four drug peddlers including a woman on Friday from the Dudhnoi area of the district for carrying contraband Yaba tablets.
The operation was led by the Goalpara district superintendent of police, VV Rakesh Reddy.
Of these four people, three are from Manipur and one is from Meghalaya.
The Goalpara Police also seized two Bolero vehicles and cash worth Rs 19 lakh from the possession of the four persons.
Later, talking to media persons, Rakesh Reddy said, “Based on the information that a drug deal would take place between two parties from Manipur and Meghalaya, we laid traps in several spots along the NH-17 and succeeded in apprehending the parties at Dudhnoi area.”
“From their possession, we recovered 50,000 Yaba tablets, cash amounting close to 19 lakhs and 2 Bolero vehicles, one of which was registered in Manipur,” Reddy said.
The Goalpara SP further said the Yaba tablets were kept hidden inside a secret chamber in the fuel tank of one of the Bolero vehicles and the cash was kept hidden inside the backlight of the other Bolero vehicle.
“During the operation, the accused tried to escape taking advantage of the dense forest. However, a police team, led by Anurag Sharma, DSP (HQ), carried out a search operation and successfully apprehended them,” the Goalpara Police chief said.
Based on preliminary investigation, the police said the consignment was being carried from Imphal via Guwahati and the receiver party was to carry forward it to West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya.
Yaba is a drug in tablet form and it is most often red in colour with the letters WY imprinted on it.
The users, who take it most commonly, smoke the drug off tinfoil, though it can be ingested orally or crushed and snorted.