Cdo team caught with drugs:: Police concealing actual quantity of drug seized and their cost
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, April 28 2013: After their dubious distinction of being trigger-happy and involvement in fake encounters, Manipur Police Commandos have found smuggling drugs as well.

An 11-member team of Manipur Police Commandos led by two officers of the rank of a Sub-Inspector and a Jamadar were caught by another team of Thoubal Police Commandos at Pallel today while trying to smuggle out drugs worth lakhs of rupees to Moreh and beyond.

The incident has come about even as the case over the seizure of huge consignment of drugs worth more than Rs 15 crores from the then PRO (Defence Wing) Col Ajay Chowdhry at Pallel on February 24 last has not yet been solved and the public outcry died down.

According to a reliable source, among the 11 Manipur Police Commandos, nine of them were Riflemen and constables while remaining two were officers.

The two officers involved in the drug smuggling case have been identified as Sub-Inspector Beisamayum Devdas of Singjamei Bheigyabati Leikai and Jamadar H Premananda of Iramsiphai, who presently attached to the Moreh Commando Unit.

They were trying to smuggle out drugs into Moreh in two Gypsies in full-uniform and service guns provided by the Government.

The two Gypsies from which the drug consignment was seized

The source further informed that the 11-member team of Manipur Police Commandos was on their way to Moreh along with the drugs in the two vehicles (Gypsies) allotted by the Manipur Government.

Following specific information that a team of Manipur Police Commandos is on their way to Moreh along with a huge consignment of drugs, personnel of Thoubal Police Commando stationed at Pallel Out-Post intercepted and detained the two Gypsies.

One of the Gypsy had no number plate while the other had registration number MN 1X-3392.No label of CDO, as is normally found in all Gypsies assigned to police commandos, was found in any of the intercepted vehicles.

It is said that the two Gypsies have been allotted to Moreh Police Commandos from the DGP Pool.

As soon as the news of the detention of the two Gypsies with drugs reached, top police officials of Thoubal Police Commandos rushed in to the spot.

On being checked, the two Gypsies were found loaded with huge consignment of drugs.

Immediately, the arms and ammunition allotted to the 11 Police Commandos were seized and they were taken to Thoubal Police head quarters.

The source went on to disclose that the drugs recovered from the 11 police commandos were Pseudoephedrine tablets.

One table cost around Rs 6.56.But since it has been banned in Manipur, one piece cost around Rs 20 in black.

In all 30,000 intact strips of Pseudoephedrine tablets and many others peeled out tablet pieces were found wrapped in a big plastic bag inside the two Gypsies.

The Police have not disclosed the actual quantity of the drugs seized and the total cost of the drugs in market.

Interestingly, when drug seizure was made from Col Ajay Chowdhry, Thoubal Police Commandos have actually revealed the quantity of the seized drug and their estimated cost in the market.

They were paraded before the media.

However, this time the police are reluctant to parade the involved CDOs before the media.

A police officer of Thoubal Police informed Hueiyen Lanpao that the detained police commandos would be produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Thoubal tomorrow.

The officer maintained that the other nine commando personnel coming along with the two police officer cannot be termed as 'arrested' by the police since they were used by the two, and it is not certain whether they should also be arrested along with two police officers or not.