Aizawl, Apr 30 (UNI) Mizoram authorities made significant headway in their battle against drug smuggling this week with two separate high-value narcotics seizures—one led by the state police’s CID (Special Branch) in Aizawl and the other by the Excise and Narcotics Department in Champhai district.
In the larger of the two operations, personnel from CID (SB) intercepted two vehicles on Monday near Zemabawk North, in the northern outskirts of Aizawl, and uncovered a massive cache of methamphetamine weighing 47.511 kg. The consignment is estimated to be worth over Rs 6.17 crore in the illicit market.
The drug haul, concealed in hidden compartments within the dashboard beams and rear panels of a KIA Seltos and a KIA Sonet, was recovered based on prior intelligence, according to a statement released by Inspector General of Police (HQ) and Police PRO H. Ramthlengliana. The vehicles were reportedly en route from Champhai, a border town frequently used as a corridor for drug trafficking from neighbouring Myanmar.
The two drivers—identified as 37-year-old T. Vancheuliana and 38-year-old Samuela, both residents of Champhai—were arrested at the scene. The suspects, along with the vehicles and seized drugs, have been handed over to the Special Narcotic Police Station in Aizawl. Police have filed a case under Sections 22(c), 25, and 29(1) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
Just two days later, in a separate crackdown, Excise officials intercepted a heroin consignment in the border district of Champhai. Acting on tip-off, the department's team stopped a Suzuki Ignis on the Zokhawthar route and seized 451.1 grams of heroin packed into 40 small units locally known as hawngs.
The driver, Rohlupuia (38) from Tuirial locality in Aizawl, was immediately taken into custody, and his vehicle was seized. He has been charged under Section 21(c) of the NDPS Act and presented before the District and Sessions Court in Champhai the same day.
These back-to-back operations, authorities said, highlight the sustained surveillance and crackdown efforts by Mizoram’s law enforcement agencies amid growing concern over the state's role as a key transit hub in regional narcotics trafficking networks. The porous Indo-Myanmar border and the increasing ingenuity of traffickers continue to pose a serious challenge to enforcement bodies.
UNI ZS SJC