Mizoram sees an increase in drug deaths; law enforcement agencies express concern

Law enforcement officials have raised concern over drug-related deaths in Mizoram after 19 deaths due to drug abuse were reported in the last two months.

The officials are apprehensive that drug-related deaths this year may exceed those of last year, which saw 43 drug-related deaths.

“The deaths of 19 people due to drug abuse in the first two months (January and February) is alarming. At that rate, we may possibly witness the highest number of drug-related deaths in recent times,” an official of the Mizoram Excise and Narcotics Department said.

According to departmental data, as many as 43 people, including six women, died due to drug abuse last year—four fewer than the previous year’s record of 47. The number of such fatalities in 2020 stood at 67.

Since 1984, at least 1,736 people have died in Mizoram due to drug abuse, including 205 women. Of the drug-related deaths, 1,161 people have died due to clinical drugs, especially prominent painkillers spasmoproxyvon and parvon spas, 214 due to heroin, and 322 due to abuse of other drugs.

After the ban on the manufacture of proxyvon and parvon spas, heroin became the main cause of drug-related deaths.

Most of the victims in the last five years died mainly due to heroin, the official said.

Mizoram has witnessed a sharp increase in the seizure of heroin smuggled from Myanmar, which officials blame on the political crisis in the neighboring country.

According to the department’s data, the volume of heroin recovered by the Excise Department increased from 12.569 kilograms in 2019 to 34.418 kilograms last year.

These were seized by the excise and narcotics departments alone. A larger amount of the contraband was seized by the police and Assam Rifles.

During the last two months, 6.182 kg of heroin have been seized in Mizoram by the department, which is also an indication that the total seizure this year may possibly exceed that of last year.

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