Drugs worth Rs 400 crore seized in Mizoram, Assam; 3 arrested

Aizawl/Karimganj, March 23

Huge quantities of drugs valued at more than Rs 400 crore have been seized from two neighbouring northeastern states – Mizoram and Assam – and three persons were arrested, officials said.

The seizure of 39 lakh tablets of specific brands of decongestant and antihistamine worth Rs 390.4 crore was made from a house in east Mizoram’s Champhai town bordering Myanmar on Wednesday. It is one of the biggest drug hauls made in the state, they said.

Decongestants are a type of medicine that provides short-term relief for nasal congestion, while antihistamine is commonly used to treat symptoms of allergies.

A police officer said heroin, estimated to be valued at over Rs 12 crore, was found in a car in Assam’s Karimganj district.

The Assam Rifles, which conducted the raid in Mizoram along with the Customs Department, said in a statement that the consignment was sent from Aizawl to be delivered somewhere in Myanmar to make methamphetamine tablets, which would have again been smuggled to India.

A 41-year-old man was apprehended from Ruantlang area of Champhai for possessing the contraband.

The seized drugs and the accused were handed over to the Customs Department for further legal proceedings.

The heroin seized in Assam was also coming from Aizawl, Superintendent of Police of Karimganj Partha Pratim Das said.

Acting on a tip-off, the police launched an operation at Veterbond area under Ratabari police station and intercepted a vehicle coming from neighbouring Mizoram.

During a search operation, the police found 121 soap boxes, containing over 1.5kg of heroin, kept inside a drum.

Two persons, who were bringing the contraband from Aizawl, were arrested.