Daijiworld Media Network - Imphal
Imphal, Jan 18: In a sustained anti-drug drive, Central and state security agencies have eliminated over 306 acres of illegal poppy cultivation in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district in less than a week, thwarting the production of opium valued at several crores of rupees, officials said on Sunday.
The large-scale operation was conducted between January 12 and 17 through coordinated efforts of Central and state security forces, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Manipur Forest Department. Multiple locations across the hill district were targeted, leading to the destruction of extensive poppy plantations.
According to senior police officials, joint teams comprising the Assam Rifles, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Manipur Police also dismantled 43 makeshift huts used by cultivators. Equipment such as spray machines, pipelines, chemical salts and pesticides recovered from the sites were seized and destroyed on the spot.
Officials said the uprooted crops could have produced more than 2,080 kilograms of opium, generating huge profits in the illegal drug trade. They added that similar coordinated operations carried out in November and December last year resulted in the destruction of over 1,000 acres of poppy fields across Manipur’s hill districts.
Illegal cultivation has largely been concentrated in six districts — Kangpokpi, Ukhrul, Tamenglong, Chandel, Tengnoupal and Senapati. Authorities estimate that the elimination of more than 1,000 acres of poppy farms during the two-month period alone prevented the production of nearly 9,000 kilograms of opium, worth several hundred crores of rupees.
A Defence spokesperson said the operations were executed in difficult terrain and harsh weather, underscoring the resolve of Assam Rifles and other agencies to disrupt narcotics production and cut off funding sources linked to insurgency and other unlawful activities.
State government officials said the crackdown forms part of Manipur’s long-running ‘War Against Drugs’. Over the years, hundreds of acres of poppy cultivation — mostly on government and forest land — have been destroyed. In 2020, authorities identified more than 8,000 acres under poppy cultivation, of which nearly 1,700 acres were cleared.
With intensified enforcement in subsequent years, officials noted a significant decline in identified poppy cultivation by 2024 and 2025, pointing to the effectiveness of a coordinated, multi-agency strategy.
Officials and political leaders have acknowledged that the drug trade, along with the ongoing ethnic unrest in the state, has played a major role in Manipur’s instability. Reiterating a zero-tolerance policy, the Defence spokesperson said Assam Rifles continues to take strict legal action against growers, facilitators and financiers involved in narcotics.
He added that eliminating poppy cultivation along the India-Myanmar border remains a key priority, with security forces committed to restoring long-term peace and stability in Manipur and neighbouring regions.