Drug trafficking routes shift to Saitual as crackdown intensifies in Champhai: Lalduhoma

Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma on February 18 informed the state Assembly that intensified enforcement along traditional drug trafficking corridors in Champhai district has led smugglers to reroute their operations through Saitual district.

Participating in the discussion on the Governor’s address, the chief minister said the government has stepped up efforts to curb cross-border narcotics trafficking and the smuggling of other contraband items, including Burmese areca nuts, along the India-Myanmar border.

Six Mizoram districts, Champhai, Saitual, Lawngtlai, Siaha, Serchhip and Hnahthial, share a 510-km-long international border with Myanmar, making the state vulnerable to transnational smuggling networks.

Lalduhoma said a core committee comprising state and central agencies has been constituted to intensify anti-drug operations. The panel includes the Assam Rifles, the Indian Army, the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB).

“We are now sharing intelligence across these agencies, which has significantly accelerated the pace and effectiveness of our operations,” the chief minister said.

He also highlighted “Operation Jericho,” a joint initiative launched in September last year by the state government and the Young Mizo Association (YMA), aimed at dismantling drug trafficking networks. Operations were carried out in 20 border villages and were described as highly effective in disrupting local distribution systems.

“As a result of the crackdown in east Mizoram’s Champhai region, traditionally the primary entry point for narcotics, traffickers have been forced to divert their activities toward Saitual district,” Lalduhoma said, adding that the state Home Minister is currently overseeing measures to seal off emerging corridors.

Citing a major breakthrough, he said Mizoram Police seized 15 kg of heroin at Keifang in Saitual last year, the largest single-point heroin seizure in the state’s history.

Meanwhile, the central committee of YMA (CYMA) has activated its Central Anti-Drug Squads (CADS) and divided the state capital, Aizawl, into 10 tactical zones for closer surveillance and monitoring.

“The intensified pressure on supply lines is reportedly yielding tangible results in the illicit market,” Lalduhoma said, noting that the local price of heroin has reportedly doubled due to scarcity. Traffickers and peddlers are increasingly adulterating the drug to offset the shortage of pure supply.

In his recent address to the Assembly, Governor Vijay Kumar Singh said the state has mounted a large-scale crackdown on cross-border smuggling and narcotics trafficking. Law enforcement agencies seized drugs valued at Rs 1,047 crore during the 2025–26 fiscal, he said.

The Governor also noted that the state’s Excise and Narcotics Department arrested 652 traffickers and seized 487 kg of contraband drugs in the current financial year, underlining the government’s sustained offensive against the drug menace.