A brown sugar factory was busted, drugs valued at Rs 100 crore in the international market were seized and three persons arrested at Lilong in Thoubal district of Manipur on Saturday.

The drug factory was raided by a team of Narcotics and Affairs of Border (NAB), Manipur, and Thoubal police around 4am on the basis of a tip-off, NAB superintendent of police W. Basu said.

The team was led by NAB additional superintendent of police Th. Brinda under the supervision of Basu, a statement said. Its other members were officer-in-charge of NAB police station, Imphal, B. Rishikesh Sharma and Thoubal additional superintendent of police S. Sachidananda. The team was assisted by Anjuman, a Lilong-based NGO, the statement said.

The team seized 111.92kg of brown sugar valued at over Rs 100 crore in the international market, Basu said.

It arrested Md Matalip, 40, in whose house in Lilong Dam area in Thoubal district the drug factory was located, his wife Samim Pusam, 35, and Md Serajuddin, 29, resident of Lilong Kaleikhong.

“This is the first time that we have successfully busted a clandestine brown sugar lab,” Basu said.

Several chemicals, equipment and tools used for manufacture of brown sugar, lime, iron plates, huge pots and plastic bins, rubber gloves, LPG gas cylinder and white cloth were recovered from the factory. A case has been registered at NAB police station and investigations are on, Basu said.

He said NAB had also arrested three persons from Hongkong Veng village in Chandel district on Friday for illegal possession of 5.463kg of opium. They have been identified as Paosienlal Tungdim, 32, and Mangnu Tungdim, 55, of Gelngai village, and Aaron Nangsha, 37, of DC Lamkhai. A case has been registered at NAB police station in this connection too.