Tripura steps up anti-drug drive, illegal cannabis worth over Rs 125 crore destroyed

A series of intelligence-led operations across Tripura has led to the destruction of illegal cannabis plantations valued at more than Rs 125 crore, underlining a renewed push by security forces to choke narcotics cultivation at the source.

In the latest action, the Assam Rifles, working jointly with the Forest Department, carried out an operation in the Boxanagar area, around 41 km south of Agartala. About 1.75 lakh ganja saplings spread across nearly 50 acres were uprooted and destroyed. Officials put the estimated market value of the crop at Rs 25.72 crore.

Security officials said the operation was based on specific inputs and reflected close coordination between the Assam Rifles and civil authorities. “The focus is on disrupting cultivation before it enters the trafficking chain,” an official said, adding that efforts would continue to target vulnerable forest and border areas.

The Boxanagar operation follows one of the largest crackdowns on illegal cannabis cultivation in the state earlier this month. On February 1, joint teams conducted a day-long operation in the Dulunga forest area under Sonamura subdivision of Sepahijala district. Acting on confidential information, forces destroyed over five lakh ganja plants across 92 separate plots covering around 170 acres. The estimated market value of the destroyed crop was pegged at about Rs 75 crore.

Days earlier, on January 29, security forces carried out another coordinated operation in forest areas spanning Kamalanagar, Krishnadola, Dulunga and Bijoy Nagar in Sonamura subdivision. Over nine hours, teams identified and razed 41 cultivation plots across nearly 65 acres, destroying approximately 1.80 lakh mature plants worth an estimated Rs 27 crore.

Officials said the repeated operations point to a sustained strategy aimed at dismantling organised cannabis cultivation networks and preventing the spread of narcotics. The Assam Rifles reiterated that it remains “resolute in its commitment to eliminate the drug menace” and protect communities, particularly the youth, from the impact of illegal drugs.