Assam Rifles troops and Mizoram Police jointly arrested three women and seized 634 grams of heroin worth ₹4.755 crore from the Keifang area of Saitual district in northern Mizoram on Friday, 19 June, officials said. The operation, conducted on credible intelligence about narcotics transhipment, is part of a broader pattern of rising female involvement in drug smuggling networks operating along the India-Myanmar border.

How the Operation Unfolded

A defence spokesman said intelligence inputs about narcotics movement in the Keifang area prompted the Assam Rifles, in coordination with Mizoram Police, to establish a joint checkpost at the location. During the meticulously planned operation, the joint team apprehended the three women and recovered the contraband heroin. The arrested women and the seized narcotics were subsequently handed over to Mizoram Police in Saitual district for further investigation and legal proceedings.

A Worrying Trend: Women as Drug Couriers

Officials have flagged with concern that women in Mizoram are increasingly being recruited into narcotics smuggling networks originating from Myanmar, with the contraband then transported onward to other states across India. This arrest is not an isolated incident. Earlier this month, Mizoram Police arrested eight women and seized heroin valued at over ₹70 lakh across six separate operations conducted in a single day in the bordering Champhai district. The eight women, aged between 19 and 53 years, were residents of different districts of Mizoram.

The Porous Border Problem

Myanmar's Chin State has long been regarded as a major transit corridor for narcotics, exotic wildlife, explosives, and other contraband entering India through Mizoram. The state's six border-linked districts — Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual, and Serchhip — share a 510-km-long unfenced and mountainous international border with Myanmar, making the region particularly vulnerable to cross-border smuggling. Saitual district, where this seizure occurred, additionally shares an inter-state border with Manipur, compounding the law enforcement challenge.

Security Forces' Commitment

According to an official statement, the seizure reaffirms the Assam Rifles' commitment to combating drug trafficking and safeguarding the security and well-being of the people of Mizoram. Security agencies have repeatedly raised concern over the exploitation of the porous border by transnational smuggling syndicates, with narcotics trafficking remaining one of the most significant challenges confronting law enforcement in the region. The Mizoram Police noted that all recent seizures were made during routine checking operations as part of ongoing efforts to curb trafficking along the India-Myanmar border route.

With multiple high-value seizures recorded within weeks, authorities are expected to intensify surveillance along the border corridor in the coming days.