The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), acting in coordination with the Arunachal Pradesh Police, seized approximately 325.5 kilograms of suspected cannabis (ganja) in West Kameng district on Friday, 18 September 2026. One person was apprehended during the operation.
Troops of the 61st Battalion SSB, based at Bhairabkhunda, carried out the joint action. The seized contraband and the arrested individual were subsequently handed over to Balemu Police Station for investigation and legal proceedings under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The official SSB communication confirmed the force’s zero-tolerance approach to narcotics trafficking and underlined the importance of inter-agency coordination along the border. An official photograph released by the force shows personnel standing with multiple large sacks of the seized material at the site, with the apprehended person present.
The seizure follows a recent Assam Police operation that recovered more than 307 kilograms of ganja near the Assam–Arunachal Pradesh border. Officials have stated that Arunachal Pradesh has emerged as a significant producer of opium and cannabis. Illicit cultivation occurs in remote and difficult terrain, which traffickers have long regarded as a means of evading detection.
Security agencies have intensified operations to disrupt both production and trafficking. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has directed heightened vigilance over narcotics movement through northeastern states adjacent to the Golden Triangle, as part of the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan.
The Arunachal Pradesh government has simultaneously conducted a crackdown on illegal cultivation. Chief Secretary Manish Kumar Gupta recently reported that the state has destroyed 18.587 acres of illegal poppy and 64.59 acres of cannabis plantations.
An official described such seizures as essential to prevent local consumption in the strategically sensitive border state and to stop onward transportation of narcotics. The official added that the trade is linked to organised crime and, in some cases, insurgency, with evidence that certain groups use proceeds from the trade and recruit local youth into it.
Central Armed Police Forces and paramilitary organisations, including the SSB and Assam Rifles, are supporting state police in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura. Officials noted improved coordination, the creation of intelligence networks and regular crackdowns. Thousands of kilograms of narcotics—both locally cultivated and smuggled across borders—have been seized in recent months. Groups involved in the racket continue to be identified and their members apprehended.
The SSB has reiterated its commitment to border security through sustained vigilance and effective cooperation with state agencies. Further investigation by Balemu Police is under way.
