Aizawl: Last week, the Assam Rifles intercepted a massive consignment of smuggled drugs along the Myanmar border in Mizoram. The haul of nearly 2.42 lakh methamphetamine tablets — worth around Rs 12.10 crore — was the biggest in the past one year.
But it was just another day in the life of Assam Rifles personnel posted along the 510-km border between Mizoram and Myanmar, a largely riverine boundary that has emerged as a key smuggling route.
The stuff smuggled spans a wide range, from drugs to human hair suspected to have been smuggled from Tirupati, where many devotees get a tonsure in deference to a religious ritual.
Gold, Indian currency, wildlife and foreign cigarettes are among the other common items smuggled through Mizoram, as are weapons, including AK-47s.
While they continue to thwart many smuggling attempts, Assam Rifles officers say the nature of the border and the presence of a limited number of troops make operations a challenge.
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Drug menace
Of the 510-km border between Mizoram and Myanmar, 173 km is land, and 337 km riverine.
India and Myanmar share a free movement regime (FMR) that allows people in border villages to trade and move freely up to 16 kilometres inside each other’s territory. But the FMR was suspended in March 2020 on account of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Brigadier Divijay Singh, the commander for Assam Rifles in the state, said the FMR suspension has resulted in more illegal transhipment of goods since people in border villages “need some economic activity for their livelihood”.
As many as 190 smugglers were apprehended in 2020, and 53 so far this year.
Last month, 120 bags of human hair being smuggled from the Balaji temple at Tirupati were seized by the Assam Rifles. Investigations revealed that the hair — worth Rs 1.8 crore and packed into two trucks — was being taken to Thailand, where it was to be processed before being shipped to China. The hair was supposed to be turned into wigs in China, and possibly shipped back to India.
In 2020, more than 8 kg of smuggled gold was recovered in Mizoram. Around 70 kg of gold recovered in different parts of the country is understood to have made its way through the Mizoram border, said sources in the Assam Rifles.
This year, there have been three instances involving arms smuggling, with the Assam Rifles recovering five weapons/war-like stores such as detonators, IED, explosives. Last year, there were five such instances. The seizures made included 30 AK-47s, two Chinese pistols, one air rifle, around 600 rifle scopes, and about 1.5 lakh detonators.
A factor of major concern is the heavy drug smuggling that is attempted at the border, which is also believed to have stoked a crisis within Mizoram, a dry state.
According to data available with law enforcement agencies, narcotics worth over Rs 25 crore were seized from the border in the first three months of 2021 alone. Last year, the seizure included 21 kg of heroin, 130 kg of marijuana, and methamphetamine tablets worth Rs 47 crore.
Talking about the increased smuggling of drugs in Mizoram, Brigadier Digvijay Singh said cheap and easy availability of drugs has a wide impact on society here.
“Mizoram has the highest percentage of drug addicts. It also acts as a conduit for transhipment of these drugs to other parts of the country owing to lucrative opportunities for unemployed youth,” he said.
Mizoram has suffered an increasing drug menace since 1984, when the first drug-related death is believed to have been reported. A total of 1,645 people have lost their lives to drug abuse since then. At least 67 people died in 2020 alone, with 268 arrests made in connection with drugs last year.
Col. Viplav Tripathi, Commanding Officer of 46 Assam Rifles, said not only are drugs an easy substitute for alcohol, they are also easy to smuggle.
“A methamphetamine tablet would cost about Rs 20 in the border areas, but its cost goes up to Rs 350 to 500 here. In Delhi or Bombay, it would cost Rs 2,000,” he said.
Similarly, Yaba tablets (a mix of meth and caffeine), smuggled from Myanmar, have high demand and are also smuggled through Mizoram.
The Assam Rifles, along with the state government and local NGOs, has launched a major anti-drug campaign in Mizoram. The oldest paramilitary force draws more than 45 per cent of its troops from northeastern states and hence has local sources who play a major role in anti-smuggling operations.
As part of the operations, women personnel have also been deployed at checkpoints to intercept women couriers suspected of smuggling drugs and arms, said Col. Bejoy R, who commands 3 Assam Rifles. Several riflewomen have been providing pre-recruitment training to local residents wanting to join the force.
However, challenges abound. Brigadier Singh said the 510-km porous border, unfenced and riverine in most parts, makes it more challenging for domination. “A limited number of troops also makes the tasks furthermore challenging,” he said.
Even so, narcotic recoveries have gone up. Major Ram Vinodh, an Assam Rifles officer posted in Mizoram, said the strong intelligence network of the force has been a critical reason.
Edited by Sunanda Ranjan
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