102 kg of ganja seized on Assam-Arunachal border in Udalguri, 4 held

Assam Police seized 102.28 kg of ganja and detained four people in a late-night operation along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border under Mazbat police station in Udalguri district, the Chief Minister's Office said on Monday.

"While people across Assam were celebrating Diwali, Assam Police remained on the job, cracking down on drug networks," the CMO said, according to The Sentinel. It said the operation took place on Sunday night along the inter-state border, with police intercepting the consignment and apprehending four people.

Northeast Today also reported the seizure.

What is known

• Quantity: 102.28 kg of ganja (cannabis).
• Where: the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border area under Mazbat police station, Udalguri district.
• When: Sunday night, November 8, Diwali night.
• Arrests: four people, whose names have not been released.

Police acted on intelligence that a consignment was being moved across the state border and set up checkpoints to intercept it, The Sentinel reported. Officials have said the four are being questioned to trace the source of the drugs, the wider supply network and any local handlers.

Why the border matters

Mazbat lies in the northern part of Udalguri district, in the foothill belt close to Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan. Roads through this stretch link the hills with towns on the north bank of the Brahmaputra, and police along Assam's northern boundary have repeatedly reported cannabis being moved through the area.

The CMO described the seizure as part of the state government's #AssamAgainstDrugs campaign, under which large seizures are announced publicly by the Chief Minister's Office and the Chief Minister.

What the law says

Cases involving ganja are registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. For ganja, any amount of 20 kg or more counts as a "commercial quantity", so a haul of over 102 kg falls well inside that category. A conviction involving a commercial quantity carries rigorous imprisonment of at least 10 years and up to 20 years, along with a fine. Bail is also much harder to obtain in such cases than for smaller seizures.

None of the four detained has been named publicly. According to The Sentinel, their identities are being withheld so as not to compromise the investigation.

The police have not said how the consignment was being carried, where it was headed, or its estimated value. NEInsider will update this story if Udalguri police release further details.