Has Mizoram become the new drug route for the Myanmar drug syndicate?

Has Mizoram emerged as the new drug route for the Myanmar drug syndicate? Amid the unrest in Manipur, Is Mizoram the transit hub for smuggling narcotics into India?

According to reports, ever since the violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023, the neighboring state has witnessed an increase in the number of drug smuggling activities. Narcotics worth over Rs 78 crores have been seized from Mizoram in the past month alone.

Significantly, almost every drug bust has a direct Myanmar link. Champhai, bordering Myanmar, which shelters thousands of refugees from the neighbouring country, has also emerged as a hotbed of drug smuggling.

Multiple and frequent arrests have been made almost regularly in the past month. This has led to an increase in the arrest of drug smugglers as well as the seizure of narcotics. Huge amounts of Brown Sugar, tablets, crystal meth, heroin, marijuana, betel nuts all smuggled through Myanmar have been seized in Mizoram.

According to reports over 16 thousand kgs of narcotics estimated to be worth over Rs 78 crores have been seized from Mizoram since the 3rd of May, the day violence broke out in Manipur.

It may be mentioned that drug trade worth thousands of crores takes place through the golden triangle which is not too far from Manipur’s eastern border. Amid the unrest and volatility a huge chunk of this is in most likelihood being rerouted through Mizoram’s border with Myanmar.

Mizoram which is already facing a refugee crisis in the wake of the situation in Myanmar, definitely has its task cut out.