Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has announced a “ruthless” and heavily intensified statewide campaign against drug trafficking, framing the crackdown as both a promise to the public and a direct warning to organized syndicates. Launching a massive state-level disposal programme at the 14th Assam Police Battalion headquarters in Nalbari district’s Daulasal, Sarma personally drove a road roller to crush piles of seized illicit cough syrup bottles and initiated the incineration of a massive haul of contraband. Over the next ten days, the state will use an environmentally safe, specialized high-temperature incinerator—provided by the Central Government—to permanently destroy seized narcotics worth an estimated ₹472.51 crore across nine districts, including large quantities of heroin, cannabis, Yaba tablets, morphine, and opium. Highlighting the staggering scale of enforcement, the Chief Minister revealed that over the past five years, the Assam Police has registered approximately 3,300 cases under the NDPS Act and successfully seized illegal substances valued at over ₹3,227 crore.
A major focal point of the campaign is dismantling the complex supply routes that use Assam as a critical transit corridor for drugs originating in Myanmar and entering via Manipur and Mizoram before being routed toward West Bengal and the rest of India. Sarma emphasized that a joint strategy between the Centre and the state is actively tracking these forward and backward linkages, leveraging advanced technology and human intelligence to intercept border-crossing traffickers and history sheeters. Addressing border security, he noted that physical fencing along the international boundary is insufficient on its own due to smugglers adapting with methods like utilizing drones and tossing packages with stones, making advanced aerial interception capabilities essential. Crucially, the Chief Minister credited a significant leap forward in tracking these interstate distribution networks to improved regional political alignment, stating that inter-state understanding and enforcement coordination have drastically improved following the installation of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in neighboring West Bengal.