Heroin valued at Rs 2.10 crore seized in Assam; three held

Silchar, April 5 (IANS) In a major anti-narcotics breakthrough, Assam Rifles troops, in coordination with Assam Police, carried out a swift intelligence-based operation in Silchar and seized heroin valued at Rs 2.10 crore, officials said on Saturday.

Three drug peddlers, including a woman, were also apprehended in connection with the seizure.

Defence spokesman Lt Col Mahendra Rawat said that during the operation in the Meherpur area of Cachar district, suspicious movement was detected.

The suspects attempted to evade the security forces, leading to a brief chase before their vehicle was intercepted. The prompt action by the joint team led to the recovery of 30 soap cases containing heroin, weighing approximately 349 grams, with an estimated market value of Rs 2.10 crore.

The seized contraband, along with the apprehended individuals, has been handed over to the police for further investigation.

The three accused have been identified as Apu Saha, Parimal Das, and Manju Rani Biswas Datta, all residents of different districts of Tripura.

A case has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. According to Assam Police, the drugs are suspected to have been smuggled from Myanmar and entered southern Assam through Mizoram, before being trafficked onward to Bangladesh or other parts of India. Southern Assam shares a 164.6-km inter-state border with Mizoram, making it a critical transit route.

Mizoram, in turn, shares a 510-km-long unfenced international border with Myanmar and a 318-km-long porous and mountainous border with Bangladesh, rendering the region particularly vulnerable to cross-border smuggling of drugs and other illegal activities.

Myanmar’s Chin State is considered a major hub for trafficking narcotics, arms and ammunition, exotic wildlife, foreign-made cigarettes, Myanmar areca nuts (betel nuts), and other contraband.

These illegal goods are often smuggled through six Mizoram districts -- Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual, and Serchhip.

Among the most commonly trafficked substances from Myanmar are methamphetamine tablets, widely known as Yaba or “party tablets.”

Often referred to as the “crazy drug,” these tablets contain a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine and are strictly banned in India.

--IANS

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