40 acres of poppy fields destroyed in Manipur’s Churachandpur hills
Authorities in Manipur have destroyed 40 acres of illegal poppy fields in Churachandpur hills to curb narcotics. The operation is part of ongoing efforts to disrupt drug supply chains and prevent future cultivation
- Dec 31, 2025,
- Updated Dec 31, 2025, 8:10 AM IST
A joint security and civil administration operation led to the destruction of 40 acres of illicit poppy cultivation in the Mongken area of the Thangjing hill range under Henglep Sub-Division in Manipur’s Churachandpur district on December 30.
The operation was carried out by a combined team of Manipur Police, the Forest Department and the Central Reserve Police Force, in the presence of an Executive Magistrate. Six poppy pods were seized from the site during the exercise, officials said.
The action followed a similar large-scale drive a day earlier, December 29, in the hill ranges of Langkhong (Saisijang) in Kangpokpi district, where authorities destroyed 35 acres of poppy plantations. That operation targeted one of the biggest illegal cultivation sites detected in the region this year.
During the Kangpokpi crackdown, security forces demolished 12 makeshift huts allegedly used by cultivators and destroyed materials sustaining the operation. Officials confiscated and burnt 13 bags of fertilisers, 19 bottles of Roundup herbicide and 16 bags of salt. Cultivation equipment, including spray pumps, irrigation pipes and additional herbicides, was also seized and destroyed on site.
No arrests were made in either operation, as the cultivators had reportedly abandoned the fields before the raids. Authorities said investigations are underway to identify those behind the plantations, while surveillance has been stepped up to prevent fresh poppy cultivation in the hill areas.
Officials described the consecutive operations as a significant push against illegal opium cultivation, which continues to feed drug trafficking networks across Manipur and the wider northeastern region.