‘Drug trafficking in Northeast is a national threat’: Manipur Ex CM Biren Singh

Former Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on September 19 said drug trafficking in the Northeast should not be viewed as a local issue, describing it as a growing national threat.

In a post on X, Biren Singh said his government had warned for years about the scale of drug trafficking in the region and claimed that he had confronted drug cartels and illicit networks operating in Manipur despite what he described as pressure and resistance.

“Drug trafficking in the Northeast was not a local problem but a national threat in the making,” Singh said.

He said Manipur's position as a sensitive border state made the fight against drug trafficking significant beyond the state, arguing that efforts to stop the movement of drugs through the region were also aimed at protecting young people across the country.

Singh said those who had earlier dismissed or ignored the warnings should now recognise the scale of the threat.

He also called for sustained action against drug trafficking, saying the fight against drugs “cannot be half-hearted, selective or convenient” and must remain “relentless and uncompromising.”

Singh was Manipur's chief minister from 2017 until his resignation in February 2025.