Daijiworld Media Network - Cachar
Cachar (Assam), Nov 13: The Assam Rifles, in a joint operation with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), have seized a huge consignment of methamphetamine tablets worth over Rs 60 crore and arrested a suspected drug peddler in Assam, officials said on Friday.
A Defence spokesperson said the joint team, comprising Assam Rifles personnel and officials of the Silchar-based DRI, intercepted a vehicle carrying the consignment in the Borkhola area of Cachar district in southern Assam.
The vehicle, a dumper truck, was travelling from neighbouring Mizoram into Assam when it allegedly attempted to evade interception, prompting a chase by the security personnel. The team eventually intercepted the truck and brought it to a halt.
A thorough search led to the recovery of the contraband, which had been concealed in a specially constructed cabinet inside the body of the dumper truck. One person travelling in the vehicle was also apprehended.
The arrested individual, along with the seized drugs and vehicle, was handed over to the DRI in Silchar for further investigation and legal proceedings.
Officials said the seized tablets, commonly known as Yaba or party tablets, were smuggled from Myanmar and transported through Mizoram before being brought into southern Assam.
Mizoram and Manipur have emerged as major drug-trafficking corridors in the Northeast, largely due to their long and porous international borders with Myanmar and proximity to the Golden Triangle, one of the world's major illicit narcotics-producing regions.
Six districts of Mizoram and five districts of Manipur share a combined 910-km-long international border with Myanmar, making the two states particularly vulnerable to cross-border drug smuggling.
The Golden Triangle, comprising parts of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, has long been identified as a major hub for the production and trafficking of illicit narcotics, including synthetic drugs.
Porous international borders and difficult geographical terrain continue to pose significant challenges for security agencies in preventing drug smuggling and dismantling cross-border trafficking networks.