Daijiworld Media Network - Aizawl
Aizawl, Sep 12: The Assam Rifles, in coordination with other law enforcement agencies, seized methamphetamine tablets and heroin worth a total of Rs 6.35 crore in two separate operations in Mizoram and arrested three alleged drug peddlers, officials said on Saturday.
A defence spokesman said the Assam Rifles, along with the Seling Naka Party of the Aizawl District Executive Force (DEF) and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), conducted an intelligence-led operation in the Seling area on Friday night.
During the operation, the joint team intercepted two vehicles and recovered 6.991 kg of methamphetamine tablets valued at approximately Rs 5.59 crore. Two alleged drug peddlers were also apprehended.
The arrested individuals and the seized contraband were handed over to the NCB for further investigation and legal action under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
The defence spokesman said the operation highlighted the coordination, vigilance and intelligence-sharing among the Assam Rifles, NCB and Mizoram Police in tackling drug trafficking and other illicit activities in the state.
In a separate operation, Assam Rifles troops acted on intelligence regarding the transshipment of narcotics at Lungvar in Khawzawl district.
The troops, in coordination with the state Excise and Narcotics Department, conducted a search of a suspected individual and recovered 382.03 grams of heroin valued at approximately Rs 76.40 lakh.
The seized contraband and the individual were subsequently handed over to the Excise and Narcotics Department office in Champhai for further investigation and necessary legal proceedings.
The statement said the seizure reflected the Assam Rifles’ continued efforts to dismantle drug-trafficking networks and safeguard the border population in Mizoram.
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.
Police said the drugs were smuggled from Myanmar, whose Chin State shares a more than 500-km-long border with Mizoram’s Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual and Serchhip districts.