New Delhi, Dec 4 (IANS) In a joint operation of NCB-CRPF, a consignment of 5.9 kg of Meth was seized near Aizawl, Mizoram, and eight members of a transnational drug syndicate, including kingpin Jabrul Hoque, were arrested, an official said on Thursday.
Hoque, a resident of Karimganj, Assam, was arrested along with others on Wednesday, the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) official said in a statement.
He said Hoque is a habitual narco-trafficker with three drug trafficking cases already registered against him, including one at Dharmanagar Police Station, Tripura, in which he was on bail.
Preliminary investigation has disclosed that the drugs were smuggled across the Indo-Myanmar border near Champhai and were being transported to Sonamura, Tripura, for further trafficking into Bangladesh, said the statement.
This is the second important arrest of a drug trafficker by NCB in the North-Eastern region in the past 15 days.
Abu Saleh Md. Saifuddin alias Mitu, who is also a member of a transnational drug syndicate in the North Eastern region, was arrested in Guwahati by NCB on November 20. He also has multiple cases of drug trafficking against him.
The statement said that for better coordination with State authorities, sharing of real-time intelligence, and effective operational efficiency of NCB, a new regional office has been established in Guwahati.
New Zonal Units have been opened at Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh), Siliguri (West Bengal) and Agartala (Tripura). Field Offices have been established and made functional at Aizawl (Mizoram) and Dimapur (Nagaland), said the statement.
He NCB’s footprint in Mizoram has expanded significantly following the establishment of the Agartala Zonal Unit in January 2024 and the operationalisation of the Field Office Aizawl from February this year, leading to the seizure of 256 kg of meth, 2.2 kg heroin and the registration of 13 NDPS cases in which 46 people were arrested in the last two years.
Increased collaboration between NCB, Central Intelligence Agencies and State Police has resulted in huge recoveries of drug consignments of Meth and Heroin being smuggled from the Indo-Myanmar border in the North Eastern States.
To synergise the efforts of various Central and State agencies in the North Eastern region, the NCB had organised a two-day Regional ANTF Conference at Dimapur on November 13-14, said the statement.
The NCB has also conducted State Level Joint Coordination Committee meetings in Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Tripura to ensure coordination among the various Central and state-level agencies in these States for in-depth investigations against the drug syndicates.
–IANS
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