Mizoram Excise Minister seeks NCB action as drug seizures cross Rs 200 cr in 2024: Official
Aizawl: Mizoram Excise and Narcotics Minister Lalnginghlova Hmar has sought the cooperation of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to tackle the rising drug menace in Mizoram, an official said on Wednesday.
Hmar, currently in Delhi, met NCB Director General Anurag Garg on Tuesday and urged him to enhance collaborative efforts to address the growing drug trafficking problem in the state, the official said.
During the meeting, Hmar informed Garg that drug smuggling into Mizoram from Myanmar has rapidly increased.
He stressed the importance of intelligence-sharing and the training of officials and staff to strengthen the state's Excise and Narcotics Department.
Garg responded to the minister, saying the NCB will organise capacity-building programmes in Mizoram and other Northeastern states for personnel involved in narcotics control, the official added.
The NCB Director General also informed Hmar that efforts are underway to establish an NCB zonal office in Aizawl.
Hmar and Garg discussed the importance of close coordination and joint operations to curb drug trafficking from the Myanmar border, the official said.
Mizoram shares a 510-km-long unfenced border with Myanmar.
Civil society organisations and student bodies in the state have sternly opposed the Centre’s plan to fence the international border, citing that it would hamper ties between ethnic communities of the two countries.
The Excise Department seized various kinds of drugs in 2024, including 46.5 kg of heroin, 138.8 kg of methamphetamine tablets, and 586.6 kg of ganja (cannabis), and booked 7,309 people in drug- and alcohol-related offences, officials said.
The state police also seized drugs and substances worth over Rs 211 crore and arrested 468 people in drug-related offences in 2024, they added.
Among the seized items were 80.8 kg of heroin valued at Rs 24.25 crore, 627.7 kg of methamphetamine tablets worth over Rs 81.6 crore, and 35 kg of crystal meth worth over Rs 105 crore.