Security forces in Cachar district, southern Assam, seized methamphetamine tablets worth over ₹68 crore and arrested two drug peddlers in separate anti-narcotics operations conducted on Tuesday night and Wednesday, 9 September, officials confirmed. The twin crackdowns dealt a significant blow to inter-state narcotics trafficking networks operating in the region.

Operation One: Truck Intercepted Near Lalpani

In the first operation, the Assam Rifles, operating in a joint capacity with the Customs Department and Assam Police, intercepted a truck near Lalpani in Cachar district late Tuesday night. According to a defence spokesman, the driver attempted to exploit the cover of darkness to slip through without being stopped.

The vigilant joint team intercepted the vehicle and recovered approximately 1,50,000 methamphetamine tablets with an estimated market value of ₹45 crore. A Tata truck and a mobile handset were also seized. The driver, allegedly involved in drug peddling, was apprehended on the spot and, along with the recovered contraband, handed over to the Customs Department for further investigation and legal proceedings under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

An official statement described the operation as a demonstration of 'strong inter-agency synergy' and 'unwavering commitment' to disrupting illicit drug supply chains across state lines.

Operation Two: Secret Chamber Yields 2.3 Lakh Tablets

In the second operation, acting on specific intelligence inputs, the Assam Police conducted an anti-narcotics drive at Shivpur under Lakhipur police station in Cachar district. Officers intercepted another truck and discovered 2,30,000 methamphetamine tablets weighing approximately 25 kg concealed in a secret chamber within the vehicle.

The alleged drug peddler and driver, identified as Sahir Hussain Choudhary, a resident of Cachar district, was arrested during the operation. The combined street value of the tablets recovered across both operations exceeds ₹68 crore, according to officials.

What Are Yaba Tablets and Why Are They Dangerous

The seized tablets, commonly known as Yaba or 'party' tablets, contain a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine and are classified as banned substances in India. They are widely misused as high-dosage stimulants in Bangladesh and neighbouring countries. Police officials noted that various cough syrups containing codeine phosphate are also frequently smuggled across the same corridors.

The Myanmar Connection and a Porous Border

Police suspects the drugs were smuggled from Myanmar, which shares a 1,643-km-long international border with four Northeastern states — Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Manipur (398 km), Nagaland (215 km), and Mizoram (510 km). Substantial stretches of this border remain unfenced, leaving the region chronically vulnerable to cross-border trafficking of heroin and methamphetamine.

Notably, Manipur and Mizoram have emerged as major drug-trafficking corridors in the North-East, owing to their long and porous borders with Myanmar and their proximity to the Golden Triangle — one of the world's largest illicit narcotics-producing regions. This is the latest in a series of major seizures from the Cachar corridor, underscoring how deeply entrenched trafficking routes have become in the area.

With both suspects now in custody and cases registered under the NDPS Act, investigators are expected to probe the wider supply chain behind the two consignments — and whether they were part of a single trafficking network.