Father-son duo held with heroin worth INR 1 cr in Mizoram

Aizawl, July 27 (IANS): Mizoram police have arrested a man and his son with 1.9 kg heroin smuggled from neigbouring Myanmar to the state, officials said on Monday.

A CID official of Mizoram police said that the heroin, worth around Rs one crore, was smuggled from Myanmar by Duhkima, 62 and his son Remthangpuia, 33, both natives of Mizoram.

The accused were arrested on Saturday under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and are now being interrogated by CID officials.

“The men might have dropped around 280 grams of heroin, valued at INR 15 lakh, while swimming across a river as they tried to flee after observing the presence of police force,” a CID official said refusing to be named.

Although Mizoram’s international border with Bangladesh and Myanmar and inter-state borders with Tripura, Assam and Manipur are sealed in view of the Covid-19 outbreak, smuggling of various drugs, arms and ammunition and other contraband is still going on.

Assam Rifles personnel recently seized 25 trucks laden with betel nuts, worth around Rs four crore, smuggled from Myanmar.

Mountainous Mizoram has an unfenced international border of 404 kms with Myanmar and 318 kms with Bangladesh. While the BSF guards the Bangladesh border, the border with Myanmar is secured by Assam Rifles.