Assam Rifles and Mizoram Police Intercept Foreign Cigarettes Valued at Rs 7.8 Crore; One Arrested
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Aizawl, Dec 19 (NationPress) In a significant operation, Assam Rifles and Mizoram Police successfully confiscated foreign-made cigarettes worth Rs 7.8 crore from Cherhlun in the Lawngtlai district, officials reported on Thursday.
According to sources from Assam Rifles, troops from the paramilitary force, in conjunction with Mizoram Police, conducted a covert operation that resulted in the seizure of the foreign cigarettes, which were discovered in 600 cases during a raid on Wednesday night.
A suspect named Lalrin Chhana (28) was apprehended in connection with this significant seizure of foreign cigarettes.
The entire cache, along with the detained individual, has been transferred to the police department for further legal action.
In a separate incident, Assam Rifles, in collaboration with the Customs Preventive Force, also uncovered illegally smuggled areca nuts worth approximately Rs 30.80 lakh from Hmunhmeltha in Champhai district, which is adjacent to Myanmar.
The smuggled areca nuts weighed around 4,400 kgs and were brought in from the neighboring country.
An official statement from Assam Rifles indicated that ongoing smuggling operations pose a significant threat to both the state of Mizoram and the broader region of India.
“Assam Rifles, known as the ‘Sentinels of Northeast,’ are intensifying their efforts to combat illegal smuggling and are actively working to identify the masterminds behind the trafficking of contraband items in Mizoram,” the statement read.
Between November 20 and December 10, various drugs, including heroin and methamphetamine tablets valued at around Rs 200 crore, were seized across Mizoram, Tripura, and Assam.
All drugs were intercepted in these three northeastern states after being smuggled from Myanmar.
Mizoram, along with southern Assam and Tripura, has become a major route for drug trafficking from Myanmar.
Various narcotics, especially heroin and highly addictive methamphetamine tablets, are frequently smuggled into India’s northeastern states from Myanmar, which shares a 1,643 km long unfenced border with four northeastern states: Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Manipur (398 km), Nagaland (215 km), and Mizoram (510 km).
