New Delhi/Aizawl, Nov 7 (IANS) A woman suspected to be the mastermind behind a major drug trafficking network linking India and Myanmar has been arrested in New Delhi, officials said on Friday.

A senior official said that in a separate operation, police arrested Joseph Lianthangpuia (42) of Chanakya Place in Delhi on Wednesday (November 5) in connection with a case registered at Mizoram’s Saitual police station, which pertains to the state’s largest-ever heroin seizure — 15 kg recovered from a vehicle on August 23.

Lianthangpuia is being brought to Mizoram for further investigation, the official said.

The official added that a Mizoram Police team from Zokhawthar police station in Champhai district, with assistance from Delhi Police and the Special Bureau, apprehended Lalchhuanthangi (50) in Delhi.

The woman is the main forward link in connection with the Zokhawthar police station case registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and the Foreigners Act, the official said.

She is suspected to be the kingpin of a transnational drug trafficking network operating between India and Myanmar and has a criminal record spanning multiple countries.

The case involves the seizure of 7.422 kg of brick-type heroin on July 10 near Kudamsen Kai at Zokhawthar in the bordering Champhai district.

According to police, five persons had earlier been arrested in connection with the case.

Investigators revealed that the woman was previously imprisoned in Thailand from 2014 to 2022 in a narcotics case and was also on bail in connection with a money scam in Kerala in 2023.

She is being brought to Mizoram after obtaining a transit remand from the Dwarka Court in Delhi, the official added.

Police said that the woman, a native of Khatla South in Aizawl, had been residing in the national capital for quite some time. After months of surveillance and investigation tracing her connections and operations, police were finally able to track her down and arrest her in Delhi.

At least six of Mizoram’s 11 districts — Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual and Serchhip — share a 510-km unfenced border with Myanmar, which serves as a key transit route for various drugs, particularly heroin and methamphetamine tablets.

–IANS

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