Agartala/Cachar, Sep 16 (IANS): Security forces and law enforcement agencies have seized methamphetamine tablets worth over Rs 425 crore in three separate operations in Assam and Tripura and arrested three drug peddlers, officials said on Wednesday.
In the biggest of the three seizures, the Assam Rifles, in coordination with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), seized 109.200 kg of methamphetamine tablets valued at approximately Rs 327 crore in the Ramnathpur area of Hailakandi district in southern Assam.
A defence spokesman said that while acting on specific intelligence, a joint team of the Assam Rifles and DRI conducted a coordinated operation in the area between Tuesday and Wednesday and recovered the contraband.
The operation resulted in the seizure of 546 packets of methamphetamine tablets weighing 109.200 kg, besides two trucks, a mobile phone, an Aadhaar card and a driving licence. One alleged drug peddler was also arrested during the operation.
The seized contraband, vehicles and other recovered items, along with the arrested person, were handed over to the DRI, Silchar, for detailed investigation and further legal action, the spokesman said.
In two other operations against inter-state narcotics trafficking in Tripura, the Assam Rifles, in coordination with the DRI and Tripura Police, seized a total of 12,26,000 methamphetamine tablets valued at approximately Rs 98.08 crore in Khowai and North Tripura districts on Tuesday night.
Both operations were conducted based on intelligence inputs from the Assam Rifles Field Intelligence Unit (ARFIU) and other sources.
In the first operation, the Assam Rifles, along with the DRI, recovered 7,26,000 methamphetamine tablets valued at approximately Rs 58.08 crore from the Khowai Choawmani area in Khowai district. One person, a resident of Itakhola in Assam’s Sonitpur district, was apprehended. A suspected truck used for transporting the contraband was also seized.
In the second case, the Assam Rifles, in a joint operation with the Tripura Police, recovered 5,00,000 methamphetamine tablets valued at approximately Rs 40 crore from Panisagar in North Tripura district. Another alleged drug peddler, a resident of Nagrmari in Assam’s Morigaon district, was apprehended along with a truck.
The apprehended persons, seized contraband, and vehicles have been handed over to the concerned authorities for further investigation and legal proceedings, officials said.
The recovery of over 12 lakh methamphetamine tablets in the two operations in Tripura highlights the continued efforts of the Assam Rifles and partner agencies to disrupt inter-state narcotics trafficking networks operating through the Northeast, officials said.
The latest seizures also underscore the coordination and intelligence sharing among the security and enforcement agencies in tackling organised narcotics trafficking in the region, an official statement said.
Methamphetamine tablets, commonly known as Yaba or “party” tablets, contain methamphetamine and caffeine and are highly addictive. The tablets are widely abused in Bangladesh and neighbouring countries, besides India.
The seized drugs were suspected to have been smuggled from Myanmar, officials said.
According to the officials, the consignments are believed to have entered Assam and Tripura through Mizoram for further smuggling to neighbouring Bangladesh or other destinations.
Mizoram and Manipur have emerged as major drug-trafficking corridors in the Northeast 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 around 910 km of unfenced international border with Myanmar.
