IMPHAL, March 8: The accused in the Pallel drug trafficking case including an Army Colonel who has since been retrieved from his post arrested by the state police commandos along with five others involved in the case along with the son of MLA and Former Minister T N Haokip who was arrested later were today produced before the Special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (NDSP) Court at Lamphel.
All seven have been remanded to judicial custody till March 22 and placed under police custody till March 12 following an appeal for further police investigations.
The proceedings happened in the midst of women protestors shouting slogans calling for the punishment of drug traffickers in the state.
All of the seven drug traffickers were produced in the special NDPS court at Lamphel in relation to three different cases taken up by the Kakching police station.
Ajay Chowdhary, 49 son of (L) Shashidhar Narayan an Army Colonel who was a Defence PRO at the time of arrest and Ngairangbam Brojendro Assistant Manager of Indigo Airline and an Indigo security staff officer was produced before the first case filed by Kakching police under the FIR number 26(2) 2013 Kakching police while Haopu Haokip, 28 son of (L) Tamang Haokip of Langol game village zone II, Minthang Doungel, 29 son of Lunkho Hao Doungel of New Checkon and Saikholen Haokip, 35 son of MLA and former Minister T N Haokip of Deulalane 5th Avenue in a second case under the FIR number 27 (2) 2013 Kakching police station and Minlin Haokip, 25 son of (L) Otkhokai Haokip of New Checkon and RK Babloo, 25 son of RK Bijen of Top Khongnang Khong Porompat DC road in the third case under the FIR number 28 (2) 2013 of Kakching police station.
It may be mentioned that the Army Colonel was arrested by a team of Thoubal commandos along with five of his associates on February 24 morning at around 7 am when all the six were heading toward Moreh along the National Highway Number 2 in three vehicles with `Army` stickers on the front of the windshield in front of the Pallel commando post.
The team was held along with a huge consignment of drugs worth Rs 15 crores in the international drug market.
Following the statement given by the six arrested persons in the Palel case to the police, the son of Senior Congress MLA and a former Minister of Information and Public Relations Saikholen Haokip, son of T N Haokip of Deulalane 5th Avenue was arrested by a team of Thoubal police on 25 February from his residence along with another huge amount of illegal drugs from his possession.