In a series of intensified crackdowns against drug trafficking and illegal activities, Mizoram Police have seized heroin and highly addictive methamphetamine tablets collectively valued at around Rs 25 crore, officials said on Wednesday. In separate operations carried out over the past three days, police arrested seven drug peddlers, including two Myanmar nationals, three individuals from Manipur, and one each from Assam and Mizoram.
According to a police official, the Aizawl District Police Special Branch intercepted two Myanmar nationals near Tawngtaimual in the Zemabawk area. The accused, Thanglianmung (26) and Manglianthang (23), both from Tidim District in Myanmar, were found in possession of 104 grams of suspected heroin concealed in nine soap cases.
The seized contraband is estimated to be worth approximately Rs 20.4 lakh. In another operation, a special team of Saitual District Police intercepted a vehicle near Keifang and recovered 242.79 grams of suspected heroin, valued at Rs 48.55 lakh, from Md Eliyach Hussain (46), a resident of Barpeta district in Assam.
The accused was travelling in a car from Manipur towards Aizawl. The Saitual District Police also carried out two more significant operations on the outskirts of Keifang. In the first case, 1.927 kg of suspected heroin, packed in 177 soap cases and valued at approximately Rs 3.86 crore, was recovered from two individuals from Churachandpur district of Manipur.
In another case, police seized 2.298 kg of heroin concealed in 200 soap cases, worth Rs 4.596 crore, from a Bolero vehicle at Kualmawi near Keifang. The accused in both instances were travelling from Manipur towards Aizawl. In one of the largest seizures in recent times, the Mizoram Police CID (Special Branch) Operation Team intercepted a truck near Tuirial bridge and recovered 19.836 kg of suspected methamphetamine tablets, commonly known as Yaba.
The seized drugs are valued at Rs 15.86 crore. The contraband was hidden in a specially fabricated chamber inside the vehicle. During the same operation, police also recovered a handgun along with two magazines and 40 live rounds of ammunition from a concealed compartment.
The driver, Lalhnehzova (23), a resident of Zokhawthar in Mizoram’s Champhai district, was arrested. Separate cases have been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, and the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.
Further investigations are currently underway. Mizoram shares a 510-km-long unfenced international border with Myanmar and a 318-km-long porous and mountainous border with Bangladesh, making the region particularly vulnerable to cross-border smuggling of drugs and other illegal activities.
Myanmar’s Chin state is considered a major hub for the trafficking of narcotics, arms and ammunition, exotic wildlife, foreign-made cigarettes, Myanmar areca nuts (betel nuts), and other contraband. These illegal goods are often smuggled through six districts of Mizoram: Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual, and Serchhip.
Among the most commonly trafficked substances from Myanmar are methamphetamine tablets, widely known as Yaba or “party tablets.” Often referred to as the “crazy drug,” these tablets contain a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine and are strictly banned in India.