Unholy nexus between the politicians and drug mafias came to light as the Central Bureau of Narcotics, Guwahati, and Guwahati Customs arrested former Manipur deputy speaker Henam Lokhon Singh along with two others recently. 1.04 kg heroin worth Rs 1 crore in the international market was seized from their possession. The trio was arrested from Hotel Ritz at Manipuri Basti near Apsara Cinema Hall. Lokhon Singh Henam is a former Manipur minister and presently an active Manipur State Congress Party member. The two others have been identified as Oinam Netrajit Singh, an executive member of the same party and their accomplice Bitu Ramchiary of Guwahati.

Joint Commissioner, Customs, North Eastern Region, K Ashi Khieya revealed that the department had been aware of the involvement of some high-profile persons, especially politicians, in the trafficking of narcotic drugs for the last two months. “On this occasion we have managed to nab them red-handed with the help of personnel of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence,” he said. He expressed hope that interrogation of the persons would throw much light on the nefarious narcotics trade in the region. “The seized consignment came from across the Myanmar border and was meant for different destinations via Guwahati,” Khieya informed. This development clearly indicates that Guwahati has emerged as a major transit point for illegal international trade in narcotics. 

Lokhon Singh (66) was the Finance Minister of Manipur from 1997 to 2002 and was elected to the Manipur Assembly on four occasions on Congress ticket. He also held the portfolio of the Deputy Speaker of Manipur Assembly during 1980, Minister of State for Medical and PHED (1981-82), Minister of State for Works (1988-90), Minister of Education (1995-97) and Minister of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry (1997). An active member of the Manipur State Congress Party, Singh, however, lost the last Assembly polls in 2002.

Oinam Netrajit Singh (60) is a member of the central executive of the same party and also an active politician. Ramchiary (30) was the intermediary in the whole exercise. Following the raid in Guwahati, simultaneous raids were conducted in Imphal also.

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