Guwahati, October 30 (IANS) The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has dealt a major blow to a Myanmar-linked drug smuggling network by seizing 50 kg of methamphetamine, including Yaba tablets and crystal meth, in two intelligence-led operations in Assam and Mizoram, officials said on Friday.
Four persons have been arrested under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, while three vehicles allegedly used for transporting the contraband have been seized.
According to the DRI, the first operation was conducted on October 29 following specific intelligence inputs about the transportation of narcotics from Zokhawthar towards Aizawl and Silchar.
Acting on the inputs, DRI officials, with operational assistance from the Assam Rifles, intercepted a Mahindra Bolero Camper on the outskirts of Aizawl along the Aizawl-Champhai Road.
A thorough search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 30 brick-sized packets containing pinkish-orange methamphetamine tablets, weighing around 30 kg.
The drugs were concealed inside a specially constructed cavity in an office table fitted with a storage cabinet.
Investigators suspect that the furniture was used as cover cargo to make the vehicle appear to be transporting ordinary household or office goods.
In the second operation on October 30, DRI officials, assisted by the Assam Rifles, intercepted an Ashok Leyland truck and a Bolero Camper at Dholai, around 40 km from Silchar in Assam.
A search of the truck resulted in the recovery of 20 packets containing 20 kg of crystal methamphetamine.
The contraband was concealed above the driver’s cabin and packed inside tea packets bearing foreign markings, apparently to evade detection.
Field tests indicated the presence of amphetamine in the seized substance.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the drugs were smuggled from Myanmar through the Northeast.
The latest seizures come against the backdrop of two recent major methamphetamine seizures of 232 kg and 56 kg by the DRI in the region, highlighting the continuing challenge of cross-border narcotics trafficking along India’s Northeastern borders.
–IANS
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