In a crackdown on drug trafficking, Mizoram authorities have arrested three Myanmar nationals and an Assam resident for allegedly smuggling large quantities of banned narcotic substances, including methamphetamine tablets and heroin, in two separate operations.
Peter Zohmingthanga, spokesperson for Mizoram’s Excise and Narcotics Department, confirmed that a joint operation with Assam Rifles personnel led to the seizure of 20,200 methamphetamine tablets—also known as the ‘crazy drug’—weighing 2.2 kg, at Zote Tiau village in Champhai district, along the India-Myanmar border, on Tuesday.
Two Myanmar nationals, Sumlamthang (35) and Zamngaihno (36), both from Myanmar’s Chin state, were arrested in connection with the case.
In a separate operation later that night, excise officials seized 246 grams of heroin from Khatla near Aizawl and arrested two more individuals—Kapchina (34) from Myanmar’s Khawmawi village and Naman Uddin (32) from Eraligool village in Assam’s Karimganj district. Two vehicles used for transporting the contraband were also seized.
Mizoram, which shares a porous 510-km border with Myanmar, has become a major transit route for drug trafficking networks operating between Myanmar and Northeast India. Methamphetamine tablets, locally known as ‘Yaba’, are smuggled in large quantities from Myanmar—one of the world’s biggest producers of synthetic drugs.
The drug is manufactured in clandestine labs in Myanmar’s Shan state and trafficked into India through the border regions of Chin state and Sagaing division.
The Methamphetamine trade has surged in recent years, with Mizoram serving as a crucial entry point. The banned stimulant, classified as a Schedule I substance under India’s Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, is known for its high addiction potential and devastating effects on users.