Aizawl, October 21 — Mizoram Police have arrested Thangminlun Baite, 24, a resident of Manipur's Kangpokpi district, after a special team of the state police intercepted the white Maruti Suzuki Brezza he was driving during random checking at Kualmawi in Keifang, Saitual district, on Tuesday night, a senior police official said.

Source: IANS via The Freedom Press

A detailed search of the vehicle, conducted in the presence of independent witnesses, recovered 100 soap cases containing heroin weighing a total of 1.457 kg and valued at approximately Rs 2.91 crore (yaani about Rs 291 lakh). Baite was travelling from Manipur towards Mizoram's capital Aizawl when the vehicle was stopped on suspicion of carrying illegal contraband, and he was arrested on the spot.

Further investigation is underway to ascertain the forward and backward linkages of the drug trafficking network, including the source of the contraband and its intended destination, officials said.

Mizoram and Manipur have emerged as major drug-trafficking corridors in the Northeast due to their long and porous international borders with Myanmar and their proximity to the Golden Triangle — comprising parts of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, one of the world's major illicit narcotics-producing regions — which has posed persistent challenges for security forces and drug enforcement agencies working to curb cross-border smuggling.