AIZAWL, July 5: In a major crackdown on cross-border smuggling, security forces in Mizoram seized contraband items worth over ₹1.44 crore and apprehended 11 individuals, including two women, in a series of coordinated operations within the past 24 hours. The contraband is suspected to have been smuggled from neighbouring Myanmar.
According to official sources, the Assam Rifles, in close coordination with Mizoram Police and the Excise and Narcotics Department, launched three separate operations across Siaha and Lunglei districts based on specific intelligence inputs.
In the first operation, an Area Domination Patrol was conducted at Tlangpuikawn in Siaha District, leading to the interception of four vehicles. Upon inspection, security personnel recovered 83 cartons of foreign cigars (Burmese Cheroots) valued at ₹62.25 lakh. Four individuals aged between 20 and 27 were arrested in connection with the seizure.
In another operation on the New Dawn–Hnahthial road, also in Siaha District, four suspected traffickers — including two women — were intercepted at a check post manned jointly by Assam Rifles and the Excise and Narcotics Department. A thorough search led to the recovery of 109.08 grams of heroin worth ₹81.81 lakh.
In the third coordinated effort, conducted in the Chawngte area of Lunglei District, security forces apprehended three individuals and seized 373 packets containing approximately 124 litres of locally brewed alcohol, valued at ₹93,250.
All 11 individuals have been handed over to the local police for legal proceedings.
Security officials suspect that the contraband was smuggled through the porous international border with Myanmar, which remains largely unfenced. Mizoram shares a 510-kilometre unfenced border with Myanmar and a 318-kilometre border with Bangladesh. Myanmar’s Chin state is considered a hotspot for smuggling of narcotics, illegal wildlife, and other contraband items into India, particularly through six border districts in Mizoram — Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual, and Serchhip.
