Aizawl, Nov 20 (IANS) In a significant haul of drugs in Mizoram, the Assam Rifles and state police jointly seized 28.520 kg of Methamphetamine tablets, 52 grams of Heroin worth Rs 85.95 crore and a foreign Pistol in three separate operations on Wednesday in Champhai district, bordering Myanmar.
Assam Rifles sources said that two Myanmar nationals were apprehended with these drugs.
The sources said that acting on secret information, the Assam Rifles troops and Mizoram police in two separate operations seized the drugs from Zokhawthar, a border two along the India-Myanmar frontier.
The operations of recovery of the drugs were launched after receiving credible inputs about the movement of a suspicious consignment across the Tiau River, by two persons, the sources said adding that as the security personnel closed in, the traffickers attempting to evade capture by fleeing from the spot and crossed over to Myanmar abandoning their contrabands.
In the second operation, a woman and a man, both Myanmar nationals, were apprehended after they were found in possession of 52 grams of Heroin while moving in a Kenbo Bike, a Chinese two-wheeler.
Meanwhile, during a joint patrol by Assam Rifles and Mizoram Police identified a suspicious individual at the Ngur area of the same Champhai District.
Upon realizing the person being cornered, he fled across the border and then a thorough search of the area recovered a Sig Sauer Pistol (.45 Caliber) with a loaded magazine and ammunition.
The seized drugs, Pistol along with other items and a bike were handed over to the Police Department, Zokhawthar, for further investigation and legal proceedings.
An Assam Rifles statement said that the success of these operations underscores the unwavering commitment of Assam Rifles to tackle the ever-evolving tactics of drug cartels and curb the flow of illicit substances.
This substantial recovery of drugs marks another milestone in the para-military forces’ relentless efforts to eliminate the drug menace from Mizoram and protect India’s borders from the rising threat of narcotics smuggling.
Varied drugs, especially heroin and methamphetamine tablets, also known as party tablets or Yaba, are often smuggled into the northeastern states of India from Myanmar, which shares a 1,643-km unfenced border with four northeastern states – Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Manipur (398 km), Nagaland (215 km) and Mizoram (510 km).