Security forces in India have made significant drug seizures worth over Rs 143 crore and apprehended three individuals in separate operations in Mizoram and Manipur within the last 24 hours, officials announced on Thursday. The operations were conducted by the Assam Rifles based on specific intelligence.
On Wednesday night, a search operation was initiated near Zote village in Mizoram’s Champhai district, which borders Myanmar. During this operation, troops intercepted a suspect carrying a consignment of drugs.
When confronted, the suspect fled into the dense jungle, abandoning the cargo. A thorough search of the area resulted in the recovery of 34.218 kg of methamphetamine tablets, a banned and highly addictive substance, valued at over Rs 102.65 crore.
Additionally, the Assam Rifles also seized 12 grams of heroin at Zemabawk in Aizawl district, which is valued at approximately Rs 8.4 lakh. This seizure occurred during a joint operation with the Territorial Army based on intelligence regarding drug trafficking in the region.
One suspected drug peddler, identified as 25-year-old Lalchchuanmawia from Zote, was arrested, and the seized narcotics were handed to the Excise and Narcotics Department in Aizawl for further investigation.
In Manipur, security forces arrested two suspected drug smugglers and confiscated brown sugar and methamphetamine tablets worth around Rs 40 crore. According to police reports from Imphal, these arrests occurred in Tengnoupal district, which is also adjacent to Myanmar.
In the first operation, security personnel stopped a van at the Naka Check Post. They arrested the driver, Md Nousad, a 21-year-old resident of Kakching district, seizing approximately 50 packets of methamphetamine weighing 10.8 kg, along with the van and a mobile phone.
The estimated value of the drugs was more than Rs 30 crore. Another van was intercepted shortly after at the same check post, with driver Hengougin Haokip, 23, from Kangpokpi district, apprehended. Authorities seized 125 grams of brown sugar in 11 soap cases from him, along with the van and his mobile phone, with an estimated value of over Rs 10 crore.
In a related operation, the Assam Rifles confiscated around 2.462 kg of heroin worth Rs 20.10 crore in Champhai district, Mizoram. This operation was initiated on Tuesday night based on intelligence regarding narcotics trafficking. The drugs seized during this recent operation represent the largest haul since the Mizoram government began a four-month anti-drug campaign on September 1 to combat the illegal drug trade and its related issues.
