Drugs valued at Rs 71 crore seized in Assam; 2 held

Guwahati, April 18 (IANS) Heroin and highly addictive methamphetamine tablets, valued at Rs 71 crore, were seized during two separate operations in Assam's Kamrup district on Friday, officials said.

Two drivers of two vehicles in which the drugs were transported, were arrested in this connection.

An Assam police spokesperson said that acting on secret information, the Special Task Force (STF) of the state Police launched the operation in the Amingaon area and separately intercepted a trick and a Hyundai car coming from a neighbouring state.

During the search operation, the STF personnel recovered 2,70,000 Yaba tablets valued at Rs 67 crore from the truck while 520 grams of heroin valued at Rs 4 crore, contained in 40 soap boxes recovered from the Hyundai car.

Both the methamphetamine tablets, also known as Yaba or party tablets and the heroin smuggled from Myanmar. Drivers of both the vehicles identified as Nur Islam (34) and Nazrul Hussain alias Ali Hussain (22) were arrested under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act 1985.

The operation was led by STF chief Parthasarathi Mahanta, who was assisted by Additional Superintendent of Police, STF, Kalyan Pathak.

Further investigation is underway, and legal action has been initiated, the police spokesman said.

Officials suspect that the highly addictive methamphetamine tablets were smuggled from Myanmar and brought to Assam via the neighbouring state and intended to illegally trade to neighbouring Bangladesh or other parts of the country.

Myanmar, which shares a 1,643 km unfenced border with four northeastern states -- Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, and Mizoram -- serves as a key transit point for drugs, particularly heroin and methamphetamine tablets, entering India. Myanmar's Chin state is a hub for smuggling of varied drugs, exotic wildlife animals and many other contrabands through six Mizoram districts -- Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual, and Serchhip.

--IANS

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