Drug, areca nut smuggling drops sharply along Indo-Myanmar border: Mizoram Govt

Aizawl: Smuggling of drugs and Burmese areca nuts into Mizoram from Myanmar has significantly declined due to enhanced security measures along the Indo-Myanmar border, an official statement said on Wednesday.

This was highlighted during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Lalduhoma to review the initiatives and development projects undertaken by the state Home Department and the Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation Department in Aizawl, the statement added.

Home officials informed the meeting that 12 police stations and 10 duty posts, manned by the Assam Rifles, currently operate along the 510 km stretch of the Mizoram–Myanmar border.

They said drug trafficking and smuggling of illegal areca nuts across the border have steadily decreased due to strengthened security measures.

Officials also informed the meeting that efforts are underway to begin construction of border haats along the Indo-Myanmar border.

As instructed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the first border haat will be constructed at Zote in east Mizoram’s Champhai district as a pilot project, they said.

They further stated that a total of 21,238 people have been issued border passes under the Free Movement Regime (FMR) for travel across the Indo-Myanmar border since October.