The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has confiscated more than 71 lakh smuggled cigarette sticks valued at approximately ₹14 crore across the North-East region over the past two months, in what officials describe as a planned and coordinated crackdown on a cross-border smuggling syndicate. A total of four suspects have been taken into custody in connection with the seizures.

Key Operation in Mizoram on June 11

The single largest haul came on 11 June, when DRI sleuths, operating in coordination with the 34th Battalion, Assam Rifles, seized more than 45 lakh sticks of foreign-origin cigarettes in Mizoram. The brands recovered included Mond, XSo, ORIS, and Patron. One person was arrested in connection with this operation.

Preliminary investigation indicates the cigarettes were smuggled into India from Myanmar through the Zokhawthar sector along the Indo-Myanmar border — a corridor that has increasingly come under scrutiny as a conduit for contraband goods.

Earlier Seizures and Arrests

In a series of separate operations conducted over the preceding weeks, an additional 26 lakh cigarette sticks of foreign origin were seized, leading to the arrest of three more accused. The cumulative total of 71 lakh sticks across both tranches underscores the scale of the smuggling network operating along India's porous north-eastern frontier.

Broader Crackdown: Drugs and Contraband

The cigarette seizures form part of a wider enforcement push in the region. Last month, the Assam Rifles, working alongside multiple agencies, conducted three separate operations in Mizoram that together netted foreign cigarettes and highly addictive methamphetamine tablets worth ₹35.71 crore.

In the most significant of those operations, Assam Rifles troops, in a joint action with the Excise and Narcotics Department, foiled a drug trafficking attempt in Mizoram's Lawngtlai district on 29 May, recovering one lakh methamphetamine tablets weighing 9.807 kg and valued at over ₹30 crore.

A second operation, conducted jointly by Assam Rifles and DRI, intercepted a truck carrying 218 cartons of foreign cigarettes — comprising 48 cartons of Oris, 66 cartons of Patron, and 104 cartons of Win — with an estimated market value of ₹5.23 crore. In a third action, Mizoram Police independently seized 20 cases of illegal foreign-origin cigarettes worth approximately ₹48 lakh.

What This Signals

The frequency and scale of these interdictions point to an entrenched smuggling corridor along the Indo-Myanmar border, with contraband ranging from cigarettes to narcotics moving through the same supply chains. Notably, this is not the first time the Zokhawthar sector has featured in enforcement actions — the route has been flagged repeatedly by border security agencies as a high-risk entry point.

With multi-agency operations now yielding consistent results, enforcement authorities are expected to intensify surveillance along the border, particularly ahead of the monsoon season when border movement traditionally increases.