Seized drugs go missing, recovered from Nagaland IPS officer’s residence

Nagaland Police is conducting an inquiry against a senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer after a consignment of drugs that was impounded in August was recovered from his residence last month, police said.

The case pertains to seizure of 6.9 kg of brown sugar by the narcotics cell of 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.

But the matter was allegedly hushed up by some officials, the arrested persons released and the seized brown sugar went missing. When the matter came to notice of higher officials, a departmental inquiry was ordered.

According to a report in The Morung Express, a Dimapurbased English daily, the contraband was finally recovered on September 1 from the residence of an IPS officer of the Nagaland cadre who is occupying the post of Inspector General of Police (IGP).

The report mentions that following a show cause notice, the officer had admitted to having possession of the drugs on August 25 and it was confiscated from his residence on September 1.

“We are conducting an inquiry into the matter. I won’t like to comment on it before it is completed,” said Nagaland director general of police (DGP) T John Longkumer.

The Morung Express report refers to a letter written by the DGP to the home commissioner (Nagaland) where the former is said to have stated -- “The officer’s actions, no matter the reasons given by him, are not in conformity with the law”. The letter, reportedly sent on October 10, “recommended” transferring the IGP to another post “with immediate effect”. “I have no idea how the newspaper got hold of the documents,” Longkumer said. The name of the IPS officer allegedly involved in the drug case is also not disclosed.

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