GUWAHATI: Two Assam Home Guards spurned an offer of Rs 20 lakh from a smuggler and seized over 7.59 lakh contraband Yaba tablets worth Rs 40 crore in the international market.
Yaba is a combination of methamphetamine and caffeine meaning crazy medicine in Thai.
This is said to be the biggest-ever seizure of Yaba tablets in the state. The seizure was made in the Karimganj district of the Barak Valley in the wee hours of Tuesday, where the consignment was smuggled into a car.
The police arrested the driver, Hafiz Uddin (36), a resident of Sombaribazar of Badarpur in the district.
Additional Superintendent of Police Partha Pratim Das told the journalists the seizure was made by Home Guards Anupam Malakar and Jashim Uddin.
“Altogether 7,59,200 Yaba tablets were seized. We never heard of the seizure of such a huge quantity of Yaba tablets in one operation,” Das said.
The Karimganj police said the two Home Guards would be suitably rewarded along with two Village Defence Party (VDP) members, Amiyo Paul and Dipankar Paul who assisted during the seizure of the contraband.
Jashim Uddin said he and Malakar were on night patrol duty when they saw a vehicle approaching.
“We signalled the vehicle to stop but it sped away. We chased it and saw that it was abandoned following which we contacted the two VDP members. The driver soon reached out by contacting one of the VDP members, offering us Rs 20 lakh and asking us to release the car along with the consignment. But I told him that we cannot talk over the phone and asked him to come to the spot. We then arrested him,” said Jashim.
The Karimganj police said it was praiseworthy that the two Home Guards performed their duties diligently and ignored the smuggler’s offer. The police said all those involved in the smuggling of the contraband, including the other occupants of the car who managed to flee, would be arrested.