Agartala/Aizawl, June 17 (IANS) Assam Rifles have seized contraband worth over Rs 5.15 crore in Tripura and Mizoram and arrested a drug peddler during the past 24 hours, officials said on Tuesday.

An Assam Rifles spokesman said that the para-military troops, acting on secret information, launched an operation and seized 170 cartons of banned foreign cigarettes near Chandrapur on the outskirts of Agartala.

The seized foreign cigarettes, valued at Rs 5.1 crore, were handed over to the Customs Department for further investigation and necessary legal action.

“This successful operation underlines Assam Rifles’ unwavering commitment to curb illegal activities and safeguard the nation’s economic interests by maintaining strict vigilance along the India-Bangladesh border,” said an Assam Rifles statement.

In another incident, the Assam Rifles, in coordination with Excise and Narcotics Department officials, while conducting a vehicle check, seized 19.2 grams of heroin with an estimated value of Rs 14.4 lakh from Zote areas under eastern Mizoram’s Champhai district.

A drug peddler was also arrested in connection with the seizure.

The apprehended individual and the seized contraband have been handed over to the Excise and Narcotics Department for further investigation and legal proceedings.

Officials suspect that the contraband, both the foreign cigarettes and heroin, were smuggled from neighbouring Myanmar.

Various drugs, including methamphetamine tablets and heroin, are often smuggled from Myanmar and illegally ferried to various parts of India and Bangladesh through the northeastern states.

Myanmar, which shares a 1,643 km unfenced border with four northeastern states — Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, and Mizoram — serves as a key transit point for drugs and other contrabands entering India. 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.

–IANS

sc/dpb