Mizoram: Meth tablets valued at RS 3.3 crore seized

Aizawl, July 6 (IANS) The Assam Rifles, in coordination with the Excise and Narcotics Department, seized highly addictive methamphetamine tablets worth approximately Rs 3.30 crore in eastern Mizoram’s Champhai district, officials said on Monday.

A defence spokesman said that acting on specific intelligence inputs, troops of the Assam Rifles, in association with the Excise and Narcotics Department, carried out a joint operation in the Zote area of Champhai district, which shares a mountainous international border with Myanmar. During a search of the targeted area, the joint team recovered an abandoned TVS Apache RTR motorcycle.

A thorough search of the two-wheeler led to the recovery of 1.1 kg of methamphetamine tablets, a highly addictive narcotic substance with an estimated market value of around Rs 3.30 crore.

A case has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. The seized contraband along with the motorcycle was subsequently handed over to the Excise and Narcotics Department in Champhai for further investigation and necessary legal proceedings.

The spokesman said the seizure reflects the Assam Rifles’ continued commitment to dismantling drug trafficking networks and ensuring the safety and security of border residents in Mizoram.

He added that the force remains vigilant against trans-border smuggling activities and continues to work in close coordination with civil authorities to curb the menace of narcotics trafficking.

Methamphetamine tablets, popularly known as Yaba or “party tablets”, contain a combination of methamphetamine and caffeine. The tablets are widely abused as high-potency stimulant drugs in Bangladesh, India and several neighbouring countries.

Similarly, various cough syrups containing Codeine Phosphate are also illegally smuggled and misused as narcotic substances, particularly in Bangladesh.

Methamphetamine, commonly referred to as the “crazy drug”, is a banned narcotic substance in India because of its highly addictive nature and serious health consequences.

Both Mizoram and Manipur have emerged as major drug trafficking corridors in the Northeast due to their long unfenced international borders with Myanmar, which forms part of the notorious “Golden Triangle”, one of the world’s largest illicit narcotics-producing regions.

Mizoram shares a 510-km unfenced international border with Myanmar and a 318-km border with Bangladesh, making the state particularly vulnerable to trans-border smuggling of narcotics and other contraband.

Similarly, Manipur shares a 398-km unfenced international border with Myanmar, which has also been exploited by drug trafficking syndicates and other cross-border criminal networks.

Security agencies have repeatedly expressed concern that the porous borders of both Mizoram and Manipur continue to facilitate the movement of narcotics originating from the Golden Triangle region, underscoring the need for sustained coordinated operations to combat drug trafficking across the Northeast.

–IANS

sc/dan