Silchar, Oct 14 (IANS): Drugs worth nearly Rs 4.5 crore have been seized and four drug peddlers were arrested from southern Assam’s Karimganj district on Sunday, officials said.

Karimganj district Superintendent of Police led the operation, which was conducted based on a secret operation.

The police team intercepted a vehicle coming from Mizoram at the Chewali Beel area after getting a tip-off from a source.

After a thorough search, the police recovered 548.82 grams of heroin contained in 48 soap boxes and hidden in the secret chamber of the vehicle, registered in Mizoram.

As per Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) standards, the value of the seized drugs is Rs 4.5 crore, a police official said.

Besides the driver, three persons were travelling in the vehicle and the police arrested all four.

Police are taking necessary legal action under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act 1985.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma appreciated the police for the seizure.

Chief Minister said in a post on his X handle: “Based on reliable input, an anti-narcotics ops was conducted by Karimganj at Chewali Beel where a vehicle coming from a neighbouring State was intercepted & 548.82 gms of heroin was recovered. Four persons have been apprehended. Good job.”

Police suspect that the drugs smuggled from Myanmar and through Mizoram it ferried to southern Assam to further transport the heroin to Bangladesh or other parts of India.

The drugs -- heroin and methamphetamine tablets -- have often been smuggled from Myanmar and intended to ferry to other parts of India or abroad through southern Assam.

Mizoram, southern Assam and Tripura have become corridors of drug smuggling as the three northeastern states share borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh.