BSF and NCB seize Rs 16 crore worth of Yaba tablets from Tripura woman’s kitchen, arresting her in a major cross-border drug bust. Joint operation highlights Tripura’s vulnerabilities and enforcement agencies’ commitment to curbing narcotics trafficking.
The Border Security Force (BSF) and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) successfully seized methamphetamine Yaba tablets worth approximately Rs 16 crore during a joint operation in Tripura’s Sepahijala district, officials confirmed on Monday.
The operation was launched late on Sunday night, following specific intelligence inputs about narcotics being stocked at the residence of a local woman in Madhya Boxanagar under the jurisdiction of Kalamchoura police station, close to the Indo-Bangladesh border.
According to officials, during a meticulously coordinated search, the joint BSF-NCB team recovered 16 packets wrapped in brown tape, which were found buried inside the kitchen of the house owned by 33-year-old Lipiyara Khatun, wife of Amal Hussain. Upon inspection, the packets were discovered to contain around 16 kilograms of Yaba tablets, estimated to be approximately 1.6 lakh pieces.
A BSF statement highlighted that the recovered consignment has an estimated market value of Rs 16 crore internationally. The house owner was immediately detained for questioning, and both the seized contraband and the detainee were handed over to NCB Agartala for further legal action.
The BSF emphasized that the operation, conducted between 11:10 pm and 2:00 am, reflects the force’s ongoing commitment to combating cross-border drug smuggling and related crimes. The statement reaffirmed BSF’s dedication to maintaining strict vigilance along the Indo-Bangladesh border and preventing the illegal movement of narcotics through Tripura.
This successful operation comes just days after another major drug bust in the state. On October 6, the Assam Rifles, in close coordination with Customs officials, seized contraband valued at Rs 70 crore and arrested four drug peddlers. The operation involved intercepting two trucks carrying cement as a cover-up for smuggling 69.61 kilograms of methamphetamine tablets.
Similarly, a prior operation on September 29 in Mohanpur, West Tripura, led to the recovery of 60.77 kilograms of methamphetamine tablets worth Rs 60 crore. Senior officials have indicated that these narcotics were likely smuggled from Myanmar and transported through Mizoram and southern Assam before entering Tripura, from where they were intended to reach neighboring Bangladesh.
Tripura’s geographical position, with an 856 km border with Bangladesh and being surrounded on three sides by the neighboring country, makes it a highly sensitive state vulnerable to cross-border smuggling, illegal trade, human trafficking, and other criminal activities.
In a statement, the BSF noted that such joint operations demonstrate the effectiveness of coordinated intelligence and enforcement efforts by multiple agencies, and reiterated its commitment to curbing the menace of drug trafficking in Tripura and the broader Northeastern region.
Officials further stressed that continuous surveillance, border patrolling, and inter-agency collaboration are essential to prevent the infiltration of narcotics and ensure public safety in the border districts.
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With Tripura’s proximity to international borders, the authorities are likely to increase the intensity of operations to dismantle drug supply chains and hold culprits accountable under national and international law.
The arrest of Lipiyara Khatun and the seizure of Rs 16 crore worth of methamphetamine tablets mark another milestone in the region’s fight against illegal drugs and underline the urgent need for sustained vigilance along India’s north-eastern frontiers.
