Kolkata, Nov 12 (IANS) An Assam Rifles unit under the Army’s Spear Corps made a large drug recovery from Mizoram in which a person was taken into custody in this connection.
The troops launched an operation in the Champhai district and seized a person with 5.789 kg of methamphetamine tablets valued at nearly Rs 4.69 crore.
The accused, along with the recovered narcotics, was handed over to the police for further investigation and legal processing.
The methamphetamine is suspected to have been smuggled from Myanmar.
The Northeastern state of Mizoram is close to the notorious Golden Triangle, and has been a major conduit for narcotics from across the border.
In August this year, the Assam Rifles along with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 76 kg of methamphetamine tablets from Mizoram and Assam.
Two persons were arrested under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
On August 28, DRI officials and personnel of the 38 Batallion of Assam Rifles in Silchar, intercepted a suspect 12-wheeler truck at Lalpani, around 40 km from Silchar near the Assam-Manipur border.
The truck was identified from among a large convoy of vehicles arriving from Jiribam in Manipur.
During a thorough search, a specially fabricated concealed cavity in the driver’s cabin behind the driver’s seat was detected.
It contained 36 brick-sized packets weighing 1 kg each and 100 smaller packets weighing 200 grams each, containing pinkish-orange tablets suspected to be methamphetamine.
Testing of the samples using the field detection kit indicated the presence of amphetamine.
The recovered contraband, weighing 56 kg along with the truck was seized under the relevant provisions of the NDPS Act, 1985.
The driver was taken into custody.
On August 18, in another intelligence-led operation along the Aizawl–Champhai Road in Mizoram, officers of DRI intercepted a car at Bung Bangla, about 30 km from Aizawl.
A detailed search of the vehicle resulted in the recovery of 64 assorted-sized packets containing 20 kg of pinkish-orange tablets suspected to be methamphetamine, concealed inside specially designed deep cavities in the rocker panels/side sills along both sides of the vehicle and in the space between the fuel tank and the floor of the car.
Amphetamine was detected in tests conducted using the NDPS field test kit.
Preliminary investigation indicated that the drugs had been smuggled from Myanmar into Mizoram through the Zokhawthar–Champhai sector.
The 20 kg contraband along with the vehicle used for its transportation, was seized under the provisions of the NDPS Act, 1985.
The driver of the vehicle was arrested.
Methamphetamine is a potent synthetic psychostimulant with a high potential for abuse and dependence. Its illicit consumption can cause serious physical and psychological consequences, including cardiovascular complications, agitation, paranoia and psychosis, while prolonged abuse can lead to severe dependence and neurological and behavioural impairment.
Methamphetamine is notified as a psychotropic substance under the NDPS Act, 1985, and its illicit manufacture, possession, transportation and trafficking attract stringent penal consequences.
The use of this drug among the country’s youth, particularly during parties and events like concerts, is a major concern for the authorities.
Under the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, the Union government has directed agencies to focus on the Northeastern states with international borders.
The aim is to check the smuggling of drugs from Myanmar.
–IANS
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