Operation against peddlers limits the war against drugs in Lakhimpur

North Lakhimpur, Sept 26: The arrest of Jayanta Patir and his wife Togor Patir by Lakhimpur police on the night of September 22, 2023, in North Lakhimpur has brought before light the worrying activities of narcotics trade in the district once again.

The police recovered suspected heroine in 76 small containers from the duo that has been running illicit trade for long. However this move against peddlers with arrest and recovery of banned substances has been the limit of police operations against drugs so far in the district. There has been no success in tracing the kingpin of drug trafficking that remains elusive to the police.

The notoriety of drug trafficking has been rampant in the last five-six years marked with tragic deaths of young addicts and arrests of drug peddlers in regular intervals.

On May 1, 2022 Lakhimpur Police recovered heroin from the pocket of a uniformed Class III boy in No.2 Parbatipur, Banderdewa leading to the arrest of his parents. Police then arrested Riju Pegu, wife of drug dealer Jiten Biswas and recovered a huge amount of Chinese and Myanmarese currencies from his residence.

Earlier on June 10, 2020, as the lockdown was eased, a hatchback (AS07-M-8922) coming from Kaliabor in Nagaon district to Laluk in Lakhimpur was intercepted by Lakhimpur Police at Sootea in Biswanath district. Heroin weighing 180 grams, concealed inside the door panel of the car, was recovered. Police arrested Jiten Biswas (32) and Sanjay Bhattacharjee (22) from Laluk who were in the vehicle

During the height of Covid-19 lockdown on March 29, 2020, Lakhimpur Police in Narayanpur recovered heroin hidden inside an ambulance (AS-07-AC-8374) that carried a patient from Nagaon to Bihpuria. Heroin weighing 35 grams was seized from the possession of Jiabur Rahman (40) of Kampur, Nagaon, Arup Borah of Bihpuria, Jamiruddin (35) from Bihpuria and Niranjan Konwar (30) of Bandardewa. The district reported arrests of 13 drug peddlers in June alone during the Covid-19 restrictions, thanks to the strict lockdown surveillance by the police.

In the last five-six years Lakhimpur Police has made several dozen arrests of peddlers and recovered a huge amount of banned substances like heroin.

Among all these arrests, the case of Jiten Biswas has been a curious one. A history-sheeter, Jiten Biswas was arrested on numerous drugs related cases at different places in the last ten years. Biswas was earlier arrested along with his associate Uttam Nath on March 3, 2021, from Kimin Circle by a Special Investigating Team (SIT) of Arunachal Pradesh Police. H

eroin weighing 269 grams worth Rs. 53 lakhs, cash of Rs. 6.4 lakhs, foreign currencies of 569 Chinese Yuan, a CCTV monitoring DVR and a Hyundai i-20 car with registration number AS-07 M 8922 were recovered from them. Notably this was the same car used by Biswas on the night of June 10, 2020, during the Covid-19 lockdown by Sootea Police in Biswanath.

On July 20, 2018, Jiten Biswas was arrested with four others, from Naharlagun by Arunachal Pradesh Police with one 9 mm pistol, two live rounds and around 85 grams of heroin. He was also arrested in 2015 by the Sipajhar Police in Darrang district with banned substances.

Thus it is baffling and strange for the concerned citizens that the same person is being arrested several times for the same crimes he had committed along with recovery of contrabands, ammunition and foreign currencies and with the same vehicle. The Lakhimpur Police is yet to chase this notorious drug kingpin with armed personnel as seen in the cases of other peddlers in the district.

Lakhimpur Police launched armed operations against drugs trafficking in late 2021 following the directives of the state government. On the night of December 30, 2021 two notorious drug peddlers Saidul Ali and Ajijur Rahman were shot by police while they “tried to escape” from custody during a search operation Banderdewa. Two drugs peddlers Zakir Hussain and Zahed Ali were shot by Lakhimpur Police on March 11, 2022 while they allegedly “tried to escape” from custody after arrest in Banderdewa.

As seen from the arrests of drug peddlers and the police “encounters”, the activities of narcotic trade in Lakhimpur district has its epicentre at No. 2 Parbatipur in Banderdewa on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh boundary.

Located strategically on the inter-state boundary as the gateway to Arunachal Pradesh, Banderdewa is a hub of drugs trade along with various other illicit activities like wildlife trafficking and is well connected by road and rail. So far the police have only been arresting the peddlers of the illicit trade. The traffickers and the kingpin of this crime are still elusive to the police.