Mizoram Police and Assam Rifles seized drugs worth Rs 2.41 crore in three operations in Saitual district, arresting four alleged drug peddlers and recovering heroin and ganja.
Mizoram Police and the Assam Rifles have intensified their joint crackdown on narcotics trafficking, seizing drugs worth approximately Rs 2.41 crore and arresting four alleged drug peddlers during three separate operations in Saitual district, officials said on Thursday.
The coordinated operations were conducted in different parts of the district as security agencies stepped up surveillance against the movement of illegal narcotics through Mizoram. The seizures included large quantities of heroin and dry ganja, with the contraband allegedly being transported or possessed for illegal distribution.
In the first operation, a special team of Mizoram Police, working jointly with Assam Rifles personnel, conducted a checking operation on the outskirts of Keifang in Saitual district. During the inspection of a truck, security personnel recovered 868 grams of heroin concealed inside 73 soap cases.
According to officials, the seized heroin was estimated to be worth around Rs 1.74 crore in the illicit market. The driver and his assistant were arrested in connection with the recovery. They were identified as Monwar Singh Barbhuiya and Abdul Kayum Munna, both residents of Cachar district in southern Assam.
In a separate operation conducted in Keifang, a special police team recovered another 292 grams of heroin. The contraband was allegedly concealed in 25 soap cases and was valued at approximately Rs 58.40 lakh.
Officials identified the person arrested in connection with the second seizure as Vungngailun, a resident of Henglep in Manipur. He was reportedly travelling as a passenger in a vehicle moving from Manipur towards Aizawl when the police team conducted the operation.
The third seizure took place during a joint random checking operation conducted by personnel from Ngopa Police Station and the Assam Rifles along Tuisa Road in Kawlbem village. During the checking, security personnel recovered 18.520 kilograms of dry ganja.
The ganja was estimated to be worth around Rs 9.26 lakh. A person identified as Samuel Lalruatpuia, a resident of Kawlbem in Saitual district, was arrested in connection with the recovery.
The three separate seizures resulted in the arrest of four alleged drug peddlers and the recovery of narcotics with a combined estimated value of around Rs 2.41 crore. Mizoram Police registered three separate cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, officials said.
The latest operations come amid heightened efforts by law-enforcement and security agencies to prevent narcotics trafficking through Mizoram. The northeastern state has emerged as an important transit route for illegal drugs because of its geographical location and proximity to international borders.
Mizoram shares a 510-kilometre-long, largely unfenced international border with Myanmar and a 318-kilometre border with Bangladesh. Officials have repeatedly highlighted the challenges posed by these extensive borders, which can be exploited by organised networks involved in the movement of narcotics and other contraband.
Myanmar is also part of the Golden Triangle, a region historically associated with large-scale illicit narcotics production. Security agencies have therefore increased intelligence gathering, surveillance and coordinated checking operations across vulnerable routes and border districts.
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Officials said joint operations involving Mizoram Police and central security forces are being conducted to identify trafficking networks and disrupt supply routes connecting Myanmar and neighbouring areas with other parts of the Northeast.
The latest seizures underline the continued challenges posed by transnational narcotics trafficking in the region and the increasing focus of security agencies on coordinated enforcement operations to curb the illegal movement of drugs.
