SARLAHI, DECEMBER 22 A joint team of the Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force (APF) has destroyed illegal marijuana cultivation spread across more than 35 bighas of land in the Chure region of Lalbandi Municipality. According to the District Police Office, Sarlahi, the operation targeted multiple locations, including Pratatol and Hattisudhe of Lalbandi Municipality–14, where marijuana crops planted on 15 bighas and 9 kaththas were cleared. Large tracts of illegal cultivation were also destroyed in Dobhan Shir and other nearby areas of the Chure hills. Police said the operation continued until late Sunday evening, during which over 180,000 marijuana plants were uprooted and destroyed.

DSP Saroj Rai, Information Officer at the District Police Office, said the action was carried out as part of an ongoing anti-narcotics drive aimed at curbing illegal drug cultivation in the district. He noted that such activities have been repeatedly detected in the Chure region. 'So far, security agencies have destroyed more than 70 bighas of illegal marijuana cultivation in the Chure belt of Sarlahi, and the operation will continue,' DSP Rai said. Police said the crackdown reflects increased vigilance to control local drug production and trafficking, adding that further investigation is underway to identify those involved in the illegal cultivation.