Over 46 drug traffickers have been convicted in the state.
This was as per reply of the deputy chief minister in-charge Home (Police) Prestone Tynsong to a starred question tabled in the Assembly on Monday.
The reply said since 2010 the number of drug traffickers chargesheeted is 427 and convicted is 46 till March 17, 2023.
It also informed that a total of 1,330 drug traffickers were arrested of which 1193 are males and 137 are females from 2010 till March 17, 2023.
On the step taken by the government to eradicate drug trafficking through stringent legal methods, the reply said that anti-narcotic task force (ANTF) has been set up in all the districts of Meghalaya under the direct surpervision of the district superintendent of police for checking and preventing drug trafficking within the state.
The ANTF and police with the help and support from the local dorbars, communities, NGOs has strengthened vigilance in the vulnerable areas prone to drugs menace.
Steps are also undertaken by the department for strengthening the drug testing laboratory by regularly taking up matters with the FSL and by seeking central funding for equipment and training of FSL staff.
War on drug trafficking have been intensified in the past few years, and the police department has moved a proposal to invoke the provisions of The Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PITNDPS) Act, 1988 which prescribed detention of habitual traffickers of NDPS in the state.