Agartala/Aizawl, Oct 30 (IANS): On the eve of the Diwali celebration, Assam Rifles on Wednesday recovered huge quantities of drugs worth Rs 18 crores in Tripura after the contraband smuggled from Myanmar and ferried to the state via Mizoram and southern Assam, officials said.

Assam Rifles sources said that the troops of the para-military forces intercepted a vehicle at Narangbari in West Tripura district and recovered 90,000 Yaba tablets from the hidden chambers of the car.

Two drug peddlers – a driver of the vehicle and his associate – were also arrested.

The sources said that the apprehended drug peddlers along with seized drugs and the car have been handed over to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) for further legal proceedings.

The anti-drug operation would go a long way in contributing towards Assam Rifles’ unwavering commitment in the fight against drug trafficking and illegal smuggling activities in the region, an Assam Rifles release said.

Popular among the drug addicts, the highly addictive Methamphetamine tablets, also known as party tablets or Yaba, were often smuggled from Myanmar and were being ferried to other parts of India and abroad.

In Mizoram, Assam Rifles and Excise and Narcotics Department officials of the Mizoram government have seized 10.7 grams of Heroin and 8 kg ganja (Marijuana), both valued at a total of Rs 13.41 lakh and arrested a 39-year-old drug smuggler at Zote in Champhai district, bordering Myanmar on Tuesday night.

The detained smuggler was identified as Thanglianmanga, a resident of Champhai district.

An Assam Rifles statement said that the ongoing smuggling of contraband items is a major cause of concern for the state of Mizoram and India.

“Assam Rifles, rightly christened as the ‘Sentinels of Northeast’ have continued their efforts against illegal smuggling and have also doubled their efforts to nab the kingpins of the smuggling of contraband items in Mizoram,” the statement added.

Varied drugs, especially heroin and methamphetamine tablets, are smuggled into northeastern states of India from Myanmar, which shares a 1,643-km unfenced border with four northeastern states – Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Manipur (398 km), Nagaland (215 km) and Mizoram (510 km).