Aizawl, Feb 11 (IANS) Assam Rifles, in a joint operation with the state Police, seized 3.518 kg of morphine by arresting two drug peddlers in Mizoram, officials said on Wednesday.

A defence spokesman said that acting on specific intelligence inputs about narcotics trafficking in the Ngopa area under Saitual district, Assam Rifles troops, along with the state Police and the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB), launched a joint operation on Tuesday night.

During the operation, the security personnel intercepted a vehicle and, upon thorough checking, recovered 3.518 kg of morphine with an estimated market value of Rs 3.5 crore. The contraband was being transported by two persons identified as Kasim and Mukeem Ali.

The apprehended persons, along with the seized narcotics and the vehicle, were handed over to the police for further investigation and necessary legal action.

An official statement said that the successful recovery underscores the Assam Rifles’ unwavering commitment to combating smuggling and eradicating the drug menace in Mizoram.

Mizoram shares a 510-km-long unfenced international border with Myanmar and a 318-km-long porous mountainous border with Bangladesh, making it vulnerable to cross-border smuggling.

Myanmar’s Chin state is a major hub for the smuggling of narcotics, exotic wildlife, foreign-made goods, Myanmarese areca nuts (betel nuts) and other contraband through six Mizoram districts — Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual and Serchhip.

Myanmar, which shares a 1,643-km-long unfenced border with four northeastern states — Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram — serves as a key transit point for drugs, particularly heroin and methamphetamine tablets, entering India.

Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma has on several occasions urged the youth and all sections of society to stay away from drugs and actively fight the growing drug menace.

Last year, the Mizoram government conducted a special four-month-long operation between September and December 2025 to curb the smuggling of drugs from outside the state, particularly from Myanmar.

The state police, in coordination with the Excise and Narcotics Department and the Young Mizo Association (YMA), the largest civil society organisation in the state, carried out the operation along with awareness campaigns.

–IANS

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