Amid Manipur Unrest, Traffickers Turn To Mizoram Corridor To Smuggle Drugs From Myanmar

Mizoram Director General of Police (DGP) Anil Shukla said the traffickers were mostly using the international border in the state's Champhai district to smuggle drugs.

Security forces with the seized consignment of heroin

Source : X/@Assam Rifles

Due to the unrest in Manipur and road blockades by several outfits, drug traffickers have started to smuggle illegal items through the Mizoram corridor from Myanmar. Mizoram Director General of Police (DGP) Anil Shukla told ABP Live that the traffickers were mostly using the international border in the state's Champhai district to smuggle contraband.

To tackle increasing instances of drug smuggling through the Mizoram corridor, police has stepped up vigilance along the international borders in the state. 

Speaking exclusively to ABP Live, DGP Anil Shukla, said, "The traffickers of late have been extensively using the Mizoram corridor to smuggle various contraband items into the country from Myanmar owing to the prevailing situation in Manipur. We have stepped up vigilance along our international borders with Myanmar. Recently, our teams have seized a huge quantity of heroin from the state’s Champhai and Kolasib districts."

#AssamRifles alongwith Mizoram Police recovered 15.915 Kgs of Methamphetamine tablets worth Rupees 42 Crores in Zokhawthar Village, Champhai District, Mizoram on 10 Nov 2023.@HMOIndia @adgpi @PIBHomeAffairs @ANI pic.twitter.com/TfYMHhXKWM

— The Assam Rifles (@official_dgar) November 13, 2023

Recently, security forces in Mizoram seized narcotic drugs worth nearly Rs 62 crore in the international market in different operations. The security forces also nabbed five Myanmar nationals in connection with one of the seizures and recovered Indian currency worth over Rs 1.21 crore from their possession.

The Assam Rifles, in a post on X, said personnel of the paramilitary force along with Mizoram police seized 15.915 kilograms of methamphetamine, an addictive tablet widely used by drug addicts, valued at Rs 42 crore in the grey market, during an operation in Zokhawthar village of Champhai district bordering Myanmar.  

In another bust, a joint team of the Assam Rifles and Mizoram police, while carrying out a series of operations in Zote and Zokhawthar villages in the same district, recovered 2.61 kilograms of heroin, valued at Rs 18.30 crore in the international market. 

India shares a 1,643 kilometre-long border with Myanmar. Four of the northeastern states -- Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh -- share their borders with the neighbouring country. While Mizoram shares a 510 kilometre-long border with Myanmar, Manipur shares 398 km, Nagaland 215 km, and Arunachal Pradesh 520 km.   

The traffickers widely use the porous borders in Mizoram and Manipur to smuggle various contraband items into India from Myanmar, police said. These contraband items include narcotic drugs, arms and ammunition, Burmese areca nuts, wild exotic animals, gold among others.