Agartala, Sep 26 (IANS): The Assam Rifles in a major drug haul, have seized large quantities of drugs worth over Rs 52 crore and seized a mini-truck in West Tripura on Thursday, officials said.

Assam Rifles sources said that the para-military troops acting on secret information intercepted a mini truck at Khayerpur in west Tripura district and recovered 2,60,000 Yaba (Methamphetamine) tablets valued at Rs 52 crores.

Though the Assam Rifles seized the vehicle, the driver of the mini truck managed to escape.

The seized drugs have been handed over to the Customs Department, Agartala for further legal proceedings.

An Assam Rifles statement said that the anti-drug operation would go a long way in contributing towards the ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat’ call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the anti-drug campaign being spearheaded by Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha.

“Series of consecutive successful operations by Assam Rifles leading to recovery of drugs worth crores of rupees highlighting the force's unwavering commitment in the fight against drug trafficking and illegal smuggling activities in the northeastern region,” the statement said.

A police official said that the truck, which was carrying the drugs, was coming from neighbouring Mizoram, which has 510 km of unfenced border with Myanmar.

The drugs have been smuggled from Myanmar and then ferried to southern Assam to supply them in other parts of the country or abroad, the official said, adding that Tripura has become an easy corridor of drug smuggling as the state has an 856 km international border with Bangladesh.

Popular among the drug addicts, the highly addictive Methamphetamine tablets, also known as party tablets, were often smuggled from Myanmar and were being ferried to other parts of India and abroad.