Silchar, Nov 3 (IANS) The Assam Rifles have seized highly addictive methamphetamine tablets worth over Rs 3.49 crore and arrested a suspected drug trafficker in Assam’s Cachar district, officials said on Tuesday.
A defence spokesman said that, as part of its sustained crackdown on narcotics trafficking, the Assam Rifles, in a joint operation with the Assam Police, apprehended a suspected drug trafficker and seized methamphetamine tablets worth approximately Rs 3.49 crore along Silchar Bypass Road in Cachar district.
During the operation, the joint team recovered 1.363 kg of methamphetamine tablets and seized a scooty and a mobile phone from the possession of the apprehended individual. The arrested person, along with the recovered contraband and seized items, was subsequently handed over to the Assam Police for further investigation and legal proceedings under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
The methamphetamine tablets, commonly known as Yaba or party tablets, contain a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine and are also popularly referred to as the ‘crazy drug’. These highly addictive synthetic drugs, which are banned in India, continue to be among the major narcotics smuggled into the Northeast from neighbouring Myanmar.
Two days ago, on November 1, the Assam Rifles, in a significant breakthrough against narcotics trafficking, seized a massive consignment of 20 kg of crystal methamphetamine worth approximately Rs 40 crore at Dholai Bazar in the same Cachar district.
The seizure was made during a joint operation conducted by the Assam Rifles and the Silchar-based Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in southern Assam. The recovery is considered one of the biggest seizures of crystal methamphetamine in the region, and is expected to deal a major blow to organised synthetic drug trafficking networks operating in the Northeast.
The back-to-back seizures highlight the continuing efforts of security and law enforcement agencies to curb the trafficking of synthetic drugs in the region, particularly along routes suspected to be used for smuggling narcotics from Myanmar.
Mizoram and Manipur have emerged as major drug-trafficking corridors in the Northeast, largely because of their long and porous international borders with Myanmar and their proximity to the Golden Triangle, one of the world’s major illicit narcotics-producing regions.
Six districts of Mizoram and five districts of Manipur share a combined 910-km-long international border with Myanmar, making the two northeastern states particularly vulnerable to cross-border drug smuggling.
The Golden Triangle, comprising areas of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, has long been identified as a major hub for the production and trafficking of illicit narcotics, including synthetic drugs.
The porous international borders and difficult terrain in the region pose significant challenges for security agencies seeking to prevent the movement of narcotics and dismantle cross-border trafficking networks.
The Assam Rifles, along with other central and state law enforcement agencies, have intensified operations to detect and intercept drug consignments and apprehend those involved in narcotics trafficking.
–IANS
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