Manipur: Joint Forces Destroy 45 Acres of Illicit Poppy at Thangjing Hill Range
A multi-agency team destroyed approximately 45 acres of illicit poppy cultivation at the Thangjing Hill Range in Churachandpur district, with authorities initiating follow-up legal action after finding no cultivators at the site.
IMPHAL/CHURACHANDPUR- In a coordinated anti-narcotics drive, Churachandpur District Police, working with the 1st Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB), 58 Battalion CRPF, Narcotics and Affairs of Border (NAB), and the Forest Department, destroyed approximately 45 acres of illicit poppy cultivation at the Thangjing Hill Range in Churachandpur district on November 5. Stated Manipur police.
In the statement , it was mentioned that “ An Executive Magistrate was present throughout the operation. No persons were found at the site. As the area falls under the jurisdiction of Lhangnom village, authorities subsequently issued a summons to the village chief”.
The drive forms part of Manipur’s ongoing “War on Drugs” campaign targeting illegal opium poppy cultivation in hill areas, which authorities link to narcotics trafficking networks in the Northeast.
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Official accounts and contemporaneous reports describe the joint effort as a standard multi-agency operation involving district police coordination with central and state security forces, NAB, and forest officials under magisterial oversight.
Similar recent actions in the same hill range and district (including earlier drives that cleared tens of acres and recovered pods or related materials) have followed the same pattern of uprooting/destroying plants, with follow-up legal steps when cultivators are absent.
Context on Poppy Destruction Efforts in Manipur
Official data from the Manipur Remote Sensing Applications Centre (MARSAC) and Narcotics and Affairs of Border (NAB) wing of the state police show sustained large-scale destruction since the intensified campaign began around 2017. Cumulative destruction reached about 19,135–19,136 acres across 12 districts from 2017 to early 2024, with the highest volumes in hill districts such as Kangpokpi, Ukhrul, and Churachandpur.
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Satellite and ground monitoring indicated a substantial decline in the area under cultivation in recent years (from roughly 28,599 acres in nine districts in 2021-22 to about 11,288 acres in 2023-24, a drop of around 32% year-on-year in the latest reported period and a larger multi-year reduction).
Authorities have repeatedly stated that these operations aim to disrupt the supply chain for opium-derived drugs, protect forest areas, and deter cultivation through a combination of destruction, legal action (including summons and FIRs when cultivators or village authorities can be linked), and monitoring. No arrests were reported from the November 5 Thangjing operation itself due to the absence of persons on site.
The state continues to emphasize multi-agency coordination and sustained pressure in known cultivation zones.
