The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized 50 kg of methamphetamine in two intelligence-led operations in Mizoram and Assam on October 29 and 30, arresting four people and impounding three vehicles, the Union Finance Ministry said in a statement on Friday. The seized drugs comprise 30 kg of methamphetamine tablets, known as Yaba, and 20 kg of crystal methamphetamine.
In the first operation on October 29, DRI officers, assisted by the Assam Rifles, intercepted a Mahindra Bolero Camper on the outskirts of Aizawl along the Aizawl-Champhai road, acting on specific intelligence about narcotics being transported from Zokhawthar towards Aizawl and Silchar. A search of the vehicle recovered 30 brick-sized packets containing pinkish-orange methamphetamine tablets weighing about 30 kg.
Source: Finance Ministry statement via IANS / Nation Press
Second seizure at Dholai in Assam
On October 30, DRI officers, again assisted by the Assam Rifles, intercepted an Ashok Leyland truck and a Bolero Camper at Dholai, about 40 km from Silchar in Assam. A search of the truck yielded 20 packets containing 20 kg of crystal methamphetamine, concealed above the driver's cabin and packed inside tea packets bearing foreign markings. Field tests confirmed the presence of amphetamine in the seized substance, officials said.
All four arrests were made under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and all three vehicles allegedly used to transport the contraband have been seized. Preliminary investigation indicates the drugs were smuggled into India from Myanmar through the northeastern corridor, the ministry said. The smuggling route and the alleged Myanmar link are the investigators' preliminary findings and have not been tested in court.
The ministry said the latest seizures come against the backdrop of two other major methamphetamine seizures in the northeastern region, of 232 kg and 56 kg. Further investigation is under way to trace the wider network behind the consignments.
Source: Livemint via BizToc