Took drugs home for safety: Cop

GUWAHATI: A senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer in Nagaland, who is currently being investigated for allegedly possessing seized drugs, has claimed that he took the consignment home in “good faith”.

“I took them home in good faith for security reasons. I wanted to nab the kingpin,” Richard Yimto, inspector general of police, CID, told HT, in response to the show cause notice issued to him by the director general of police T John Longkumer. Yimto has been on leave since mid-september.

On September 1, a team led by additional director general of police, Nagaland, seized 6.9 kg of suspected brown sugar from Yimto’s residence. A kilogram of brown sugar is estimated to have a street value of about ~1 crore.

Yimto said the drugs were seized by a team led by a sub-inspector of the narcotics cell of the Nagaland Police at the Khuzama inter-state border with Manipur on August 3. The contraband was found in a car coming from Manipur and two persons were reportedly detained. However, no case was registered and Yimto did not send the drugs forensic test, as required. “No case was registered and the two persons were allowed to go with a promise that they will come back with the kingpin...,” Yimto said, adding “unfortunately they did not come back”.

Yimto claimed that the drug was kept at police headquarters till August 17. He took it home, thinking it wasn’t safe there.

“It was safe in my house as there is round-the-clock security,” he said. Asked why the DGP was not informed in the intervening period of August 3 and 25, Yimto said, “I was very busy...”

Additional director general of police Renchamo P Kikon, who carried out the seizure, said he will cross check if the drugs were kept at the store room.

Yimto said he wrote to the DGP on August 25 and then again on August 28, asking for directions.

However, a week later, he said, “Instead of any response, a police team came to my house and seized the drugs on September 1.”

In a recent statement, Nagaland Police said, “The matter was brought to the notice of the DGP on August 25 via a written explanatory note by the IG (CID) himself explaining the time lapse and non registration of case”.