Daijiworld Media Network - Aizawl
Aizawl, Sep 30: Mizoram on Wednesday destroyed seized narcotic substances worth more than Rs 11.82 crore in Aizawl as part of the state's intensified crackdown on drug trafficking, officials said.
The Mizoram Excise and Narcotics Department destroyed the seized drugs at Bethani Multipurpose Farm in Phunchawng after the related cases were disposed of by courts. The action was carried out in accordance with Section 51A of the Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and the NDPS (Seizure, Storage, Sampling and Disposal) Rules, 2022.
The destroyed substances included 5.356 kg of heroin, 19.430 kg of ganja, 1.985 kg of methamphetamine tablets, 89.9 kg of codeine-based cough syrup, 0.418 kg of alprazolam, 0.04 kg of nitrazepam and 6.830 kg of opium. The total estimated value of the seized narcotics was Rs 11,82,13,173.
The substances were seized in 106 cases that had already been disposed of by the courts.
The national campaign against drug trafficking has also focused on the Northeast frontier. Recent operations by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) led to the seizure of 15 kg of methamphetamine tablets in July and another 20 kg in August along the Aizawl-Champhai route. Investigators indicated that the consignments had entered Mizoram from Myanmar through the Zokhawthar-Champhai sector.
Mizoram has also strengthened its state-level response to the drug menace. On September 28, the state launched the State Action Plan to Combat Drug Menace 2026-2029. Tlangmawi village in Khawzawl district was also declared Mizoram's first drug-free village.
Commissioner of Excise and Narcotics Z. Lalhmangaiha said the destruction reflected cooperation among the Mizoram Police, Central YMA, voluntary organisations and other agencies. He also called for continued public support to strengthen the fight against drugs.
Mizoram and Manipur have emerged as major drug-trafficking corridors in the Northeast due to their long and porous international borders with Myanmar and proximity to the Golden Triangle, one of the world's major illicit narcotics-producing regions.
Six districts of Mizoram and five districts of Manipur share around 910 km of unfenced international border with Myanmar.
Methamphetamine tablets, also known as Yaba or party tablets, contain methamphetamine and caffeine and are misused as high-dose drugs in Bangladesh, neighbouring countries and India. Cough syrups containing Codeine Phosphate are also illegally used as drugs in Bangladesh and are banned in India.
Besides methamphetamine tablets, heroin and other narcotic substances are smuggled from Myanmar through Mizoram and transported to other parts of India and abroad through clandestine routes.