Cachar: Assam Rifles, DRI seize 20 kg crystal meth worth Rs 40 crore

Assam Rifles and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Silchar, have seized about 20 kg of crystal methamphetamine valued at around Rs 40 crore at Dholai Bazar in Assam's Cachar district and detained three people, officials said on Sunday.

India Today NE reported that the joint operation took place on October 30, while The Times of India said the seizure was made on Saturday. The names of those held have not been released.

How the consignment was caught

Acting on specific intelligence, the joint team intercepted a vehicle suspected of carrying narcotics and found 20 packets holding roughly 20 kg of crystal meth. Three mobile phones and two vehicles allegedly used to move the drugs were also seized.

A preliminary assessment found that the consignment had come from Mizoram and was being taken through Silchar for onward delivery to other parts of the country. Officials suspect an organised network has been using Silchar as a transit point for synthetic drugs moving out of the North East.

Assam Rifles described the haul as the force's first seizure of crystal methamphetamine, according to India Today NE. The three people, the drugs, phones and vehicles were handed over to DRI Silchar for investigation and legal action. Officials said the probe would try to trace the source, the intended buyers and others in the network.

Second seizure in Aizawl

In a separate operation in Mizoram, Assam Rifles recovered 7.813 kg of methamphetamine tablets, valued at about Rs 6.25 crore, at Ramthar North in Aizawl district and detained two people, a defence spokesperson said, according to IANS. They were handed over to Mizoram Police for action under the NDPS Act, 1985.

The two operations together account for drugs worth about Rs 46.25 crore and five arrests.

A busy trafficking corridor

Methamphetamine tablets, often called yaba, mix methamphetamine with caffeine and are among the drugs most frequently smuggled from Myanmar into the North East. Six districts of Mizoram and five of Manipur share a roughly 910-km border with Myanmar, and both states have been described by enforcement agencies as key corridors for drugs from the Golden Triangle region.

The Cachar seizure comes days after the DRI reported recovering about 50 kg of methamphetamine tablets in operations across Mizoram and Assam.