BSF and NCB seize Rs 16 crore worth Yaba tablets in Tripura, woman arrested

The Border Security Force (BSF), Tripura Frontier, in coordination with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Agartala, seized a massive consignment of Yaba tablets worth approximately Rs 16 crore during a joint operation in the Sepahijala district late Sunday night.

Acting on specific intelligence inputs regarding the storage of a large quantity of Yaba tablets at a private residence, BSF personnel and NCB officials launched a coordinated operation in the bordering area of Boxanagar under the jurisdiction of Kalamchoura Police Station.

The operation, conducted between 11:10 PM and 2:00 AM, targeted the house of Lipiyara Khatun (33), wife of Amal Hussain, a resident of Madhya Boxanagar. During a thorough search of the premises, the joint team unearthed 16 packets wrapped in brown tape, buried within the kitchen area of the house. Upon inspection, the packets were found to contain approximately 16 kilograms of Yaba tablets — around 1.6 lakh tablets in total, valued at around ₹16 crore in the illegal market.

Following the recovery, Lipiyara Khatun was detained on the spot for interrogation and subsequent legal proceedings. Both the seized narcotics and the detained individual have been handed over to the NCB Agartala for further investigation and appropriate legal action.

Authorities believe the contraband may have been part of a larger trans-border smuggling network operating along the Indo-Bangladesh border. The BSF has intensified surveillance and coordination with state and central agencies to curb the rising trend of synthetic drug smuggling in the region.