New Delhi: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized 76kg of suspected methamphetamine tablets in two intelligence-led operations along India’s north-eastern frontier, arresting two people under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
In the latest operation on August 25, DRI officials, assisted by the 38th Battalion of Assam Rifles, intercepted a 12-wheeler truck near Lalpani on the Assam-Manipur border. A concealed cavity behind the driver’s seat contained 56kg of pinkish-orange tablets suspected to be methamphetamine. The vehicle and contraband were seized and its occupant arrested.
In an earlier operation on August 18, DRI officials intercepted a car on the Aizawl-Champhai Road in Mizoram and recovered another 20kg of suspected methamphetamine. The tablets were hidden in specially fabricated cavities in the vehicle’s side sills and near the fuel tank. The driver was arrested.
Preliminary field tests indicated the presence of amphetamine in samples from both seizures. Investigators suspect the Mizoram consignment was smuggled from Myanmar through the Zokhawthar-Champhai sector.
DRI said methamphetamine is a psychotropic substance under the NDPS Act and its illicit possession, transportation and trafficking attract stringent penalties.