Assam Rifles Seize Heroin Worth Over ₹5 Crore in Mizoram Operation
Major Drug Bust in Mizoram
Two arrested individuals identified as Myanmar nationals with seized drugs (Photo: IANS)
Aizawl, Oct 4: In a significant operation against drug trafficking along the India-Myanmar border, the Assam Rifles have confiscated 2.5 kg of heroin valued at approximately ₹5.07 crore and detained two individuals in the Champhai district of Mizoram.
The apprehended individuals have been identified as nationals from Myanmar.
According to a Defence spokesperson, the operation was executed based on specific intelligence at Zote in Champhai district, leading to the recovery of the heroin.
The seized drugs and the detained individuals were subsequently transferred to the Champhai Excise and Narcotics Department for further investigation and legal action.
This seizure underscores the Assam Rifles' ongoing commitment, in collaboration with civil authorities, to combat drug smuggling along the international border and to safeguard the local population, as stated by an official.
This operation follows a recent incident where the Mizoram Excise and Narcotics Department destroyed drugs worth over ₹11.82 crore at Bethani Multipurpose Farm in Aizawl, following court orders related to the disposal of these cases.
The destruction was conducted in compliance with Section 51A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and the NDPS (Seizure, Storage, Sampling and Disposal) Rules, 2022.
The destroyed drugs 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, with a total estimated value of ₹11,82,13,173.
Mizoram, along with neighboring Manipur, has become a significant corridor for drug trafficking in the Northeast, attributed to its extensive and porous international borders with Myanmar and its proximity to the Golden Triangle, a notorious region for illicit narcotics production.
Six districts in Mizoram and five in Manipur share approximately 910 km of unfenced border with Myanmar.
In addition to heroin and methamphetamine tablets, various narcotics are smuggled from Myanmar through Mizoram and distributed to other regions of India and abroad via secret routes.
Methamphetamine tablets, often referred to as Yaba or party tablets, are a combination of methamphetamine and caffeine, widely misused in India, Bangladesh, and neighboring countries. Codeine-based cough syrups are also frequently abused and trafficked illegally in the area.