Drugs, liquor, jewellery worth Rs 75 cr seized in poll-bound Assam so far

Drugs, liquor and jewellery worth Rs 75 crore have been seized after the Model Code of Conduct came into force in Assam, where the three-phase assembly elections will be held

Drugs, liquor and jewellery worth Rs 75 crore have been seized after the Model Code of Conduct came into force in Assam, where the three-phase assembly elections will be held from March 27, a senior poll official said on Friday.

Drugs with a market value of Rs 30.30 crore, liquor worth Rs 19.12 crore and Rs 16.14 crore in cash have been seized since the announcement of poll dates on February 26, state Chief Electoral Officer Nitin Khade said.

Gold and silver ornaments valued at Rs 2.82 crore and items like cigarettes and black pepper amounting to Rs 6.63 crore have also been seized, he said.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Guwahati had seized crystalline methamphetamine worth Rs 15.14 crore in Nazirakhat on March 7. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had seized 37,569 litres of liquor worth Rs 4.52 crore in Dibrugarh on March 15.

A total of 3,682 kg of ganja and one kg of gold were seized while being smuggled from Manipur and Tripura on March 7 and March 8 respectively.

Over 77 lakh litres of liquor have been sold in the state since the announcement of the elections. Assam has a total of 2,512 India-made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) shops and 713 country liquor outlets.

Excise officials are monitoring the shops that are reporting more than usual sales of liquor.

Surveillance teams, enforcement and other regulatory agencies are maintaining a close vigil 24/7 to crack down on all illegal transactions of cash, liquor, drugs, jewellery, Khade added. PTI

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