Contraband worth Rs 1.44 crore seized in Mizoram, 11 people held

Aizawl, July 5 (IANS) Assam Rifles and other security forces have seized contraband worth over Rs 1.44 crore and arrested 11 drug peddlers, including two women, in Mizoram during the past 24 hours, officials said on Saturday.

An official said that acting on specific intelligence inputs regarding the movement of contraband foreign cigars in Siaha District, an Area Domination Patrol (ADP) was launched by Assam Rifles along with Mizoram police at Tlangpuikawn areas.

The security personnel intercepted four vehicles and recovered 83 cartons of foreign Cigars (Burmese Cheroot) worth Rs 62.25 lakh from the vehicles.

Four people aged between 20 to 27 years were arrested in this connection.

In another incident, the Assam Rifles, along with officials of the Excise and Narcotics Department, established a check post at New Dawn to Hnahthial road in Siaha District and intercepted four suspects.

Upon thorough search, heroin weighing 109.08 grams valued at Rs 81.81 lakh was recovered from the four drug traffickers, including two women.

In the third operation, the Assam Rifles and the state police jointly arrested three individuals from the Chawngte areas of Lunglei District and recovered 373 packets, containing approximately 124 litres of locally made alcohol worth Rs 93,250.

All 11 smugglers and the seized drugs and contraband were handed over to the police for undertaking legal action.

The security officials suspect that all the contraband was smuggled from Myanmar. The Siaha District has an unfenced border with Myanmar, while the Lunglei District shares a border with Bangladesh.

Myanmar's Chin state is a hub for smuggling of varied drugs, exotic wildlife animals and many other contraband through six Mizoram districts -- Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual and Serchhip.

Mizoram shares 510 km and 318 km of unfenced border with Myanmar and Bangladesh, respectively.

--IANS

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