Imphal, Jan 17: Five Manipur Police personnel were arrested on Monday while ferrying drugs, including heroin and highly addictive Methamphetamine tablets, from Moreh town along the India-Myanmar border.

Kakching district Superintendent of Police (SP), Shrey Vats, said the five police personnel including a Havildar, after collecting the drugs illegally from Myanmar, were transporting them to the state capital Imphal in a Maruti Gypsy.

He said that during a routine vehicle-checking in Kuraopokpi area on National Highway 102 the drugs were seized and the police men were arrested.

The arrested police personnel are Havildar Kh Achouba Singh, Constable Y Dineshwor Singh, and Riflemen Th Subhash Chothe, M Premchandra Singh and N Dorendrajit Singh.

The district police chief said that1.33 kg heroin and over 80,000 Methamphetamine tablets (also called Yaba tablet or party tablet) weighing 9.151 kg, worth crores of rupees, were seized.

A cash amount of Rs 80,000 was also seized from one of the personnel.

The arrested persons have been handed over to Kakching Police for further legal action.

The Manipur government headed by Chief Minister N. Biren has launched a war against drugs. “The war against drugs is not for my personal gains. Nobody in my family is hooked on drug addiction. The next generation shall be wiped out or reduced to vegetables unless we join hands to fight this drug menace,” Singh told the media.

In a separate development, the Manipur government from Monday has started deploying drones to destroy poppy plantations.

More such missions to be carried out in all the areas where poppy is being cultivated, the Chief Minister said in a tweet.

In a separate tweet, the Chief Minister said: “Grass cutters are now used for destruction of poppy plantations. Drones that can spray herbicides will be deployed soon as well.”