Drugs and foreign-origin cigarettes valued at Rs 11.29 crore seized in Assam, Nagaland

Guwahati/Kohima, Sep 6 (IANS) Banned methamphetamine tablets and 'smuggled' foreign-origin cigarettes valued at Rs 11.29 crore were seized in Assam and Nagaland.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said banned highly addictive methamphetamine tablets valued at over Rs 10 crore were seized in Sribhumi district (Karimganj district), and a drug peddler was arrested in this connection.

The police seized 70,000 methamphetamine tablets, also known as 'Yaba' tablets, in a major anti-narcotics operation, Sarma said in a post on his X handle.

Police have started necessary legal procedures under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act 1985. Methamphetamine tablets are a Schedule II substance under the Controlled Substances Act, and caffeine.

In Nagaland, police have seized 'smuggled' foreign-origin cigarettes valued at Rs 1.29 crore in the state's Peren district.

A police official said the Assam Rifles and the Nagaland Police, in a joint move, intercepted a truck carrying a large consignment of foreign-origin cigarettes illegally in the Tening area and recovered the tobacco products. The seizure marks a major success in the ongoing efforts to curb the smuggling of contraband items into Nagaland, they said.

The seized consignment has been handed over to the concerned authorities for further investigation and legal proceedings, the officials said.

Police officials suspect that both methamphetamine tablets and foreign-origin cigarettes were smuggled from Myanmar. The methamphetamine tablets, after being smuggled from Myanmar, came to Assam through Mizoram.

Various drugs, especially highly addictive methamphetamine tablets and different types of contraband, including exotic animals, are often illegally traded through six districts in Mizoram -- Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual, and Serchhip -- which share unfenced borders of 510 km with Myanmar.

From Mizoram, these drugs are also ferried to other parts of the country and abroad, including Bangladesh. Four northeastern states – Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Manipur (398 km), Nagaland (215 km) and Mizoram (510 km) – share a 1,643-km unfenced border with Myanmar, which is a main source of illegal drug trades.

--IANS

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