Methamphetamine tablets valued at Rs 19 crore seized

Shillong : A huge haul of methamphetamine tablets worth Rs 19 crore destined for Bangladesh via Meghalaya has been seized from a hideout on the Meghalaya-Assam border, customs officials said on Thursday.

Officials arrested Letminlun Khongsai (27), the international drug kingpin, and his driver Sailesh Singh from Killing village in Meghalaya's Ri-Bhoi district on Wednesday.

Khongsai, who has been on the radar of security agencies and customs, is from Manipur's Moreh village on the India-Myanmar border.

Deputy Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) Isaac Kharkongor said Khongsai was arrested after receiving input that a huge consignment of Metamphetamine tablets weighing 19.7 kg meant for Khongsai was dispatched from Manipur's capital Imphal in a white Scorpio on Tuesday.

The arrested persons have been booked under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

"Meghalaya being a peaceful state has become a safe haven for international drug syndicates who are using it as a transit route from Myanmar to Bangladesh," Kharkongor said.

Meghalaya shares a 443-km border with Bangladesh, part of which is porous, hilly and unfenced and thus prone to infiltration.