IMPHAL, Feb 24 MNS NNN: Manipur police had detained an army colonel for transporting a huge amount of banned drugs worth Rs15 crore to the Myanmar side on Sunday.
Colonel Ajay Choudhury along with five others were transporting the banned drugs in three vehicles from Imphal towards the Myanmar side this morning when the Manipur police caught them and seized the drugs.
Altogether there were two Bolero jeeps and one Tata Safari. The Bolero jeep the army colonel was using has a flag-post which was leading the two other vehicles.
Reports said Col Ajay Choudhury, PRO of Defence Wing stationed at M-Sector in Imphal along with five others were heading towards the border town of Moreh in the Indo-Myanmar border when the Thoubal district police attached with Pallel police station in Chandel district signalled them to stop.
Colonel Ajay Choudhuri slowed down his vehicle and explained to the police about his identity and asked the driver to speed away.
The two tailing vehicles too sped away without paying any heed to police signal. Sensing some suspicion, the police in no time mounted their Gypsy vehicle and chased the three vehicles. After a good chased for about ten minutes, the police team managed to stopped them. The police checked the three vehicles and found the drugs in all the three vehicles.
In the first Bolero jeep where the army colonel was sitting, the police team found drugs packed in 2 huge bags, 5 carton boxes and one huge plastic bag. Six huge plastic bags and three carton boxes were found packed with the drugs in the second vehicle and in the third vehicle, i.e in the Tata Safari, 8 plastic bags, for travelling bags and one carton box were found loaded packed with the drugs.
The names of the seized drugs are cipla restifed, omkof, hilcold-t, polyfed-c and actidin.
Reports said all the six persons were detained first at the Pallel police station but handed them to Kakching police station, Thoubal district in the evening.
Reports said initially the army colonel was denying of carrying the drugs, according to a source. Ajay Choudhury had reportedly told the police that he was not aware of the goods. He thought they were the personnel goods of his travelling collegues. But it was not clear whether the army colonel had admitted of the wrong doing or not.
Meanwhile, the other five have been identified as one Ngairakpam Brojendro (40), s/o late Dyamendro of Singjamei Khong Kheidekpi, Imphal. He is reportedly an assistant manager of the Indigo airline based in Imphal. He was driving the first vehicle where the colonel was sitting.
The third person has been identified as one Haopu Haokip (28), s/o Hegin Haokip from Langol’s Game Village, Zone II, Imphal. The fourth one has been identified as Minthang Dongel (29) s/o Lupho Aobangel of New Checkon, Imphal. The next person has been identified as one Assan Rifle jawan R.K Babloo (25), s/o R.K Bijen of Porompat, Imphal and the last one is one Milan Haokip. s/o late Poukhokin Haokip of New Checkon, Imphal.
UNA reports that Col Ajay has confessed about his involvement with the smuggling of drugs along the Moreh route for over five times earlier.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/army-pro-held-with-drugs/
