The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested two men and seized over 7 kg of heroin worth around Rs 15 crore in the international market, busting a Myanmar-sourced drug trafficking module operating in Manipur.
The arrests were made on Wednesday during a joint operation by the NCB’s Imphal zonal unit and the Assam Rifles near the India–Myanmar border, officials said.
Acting on specific intelligence inputs, the team intercepted a four-wheeler and recovered 7.31 kg of heroin concealed inside 638 plastic soap cases. The vehicle was stopped close to the border region, where traffickers are increasingly exploiting difficult terrain to evade security checks.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the consignment originated from the Haichin region of Myanmar. Officials said the smugglers transported the drugs through dense forest corridors in Manipur, bypassing regular police surveillance and established checkpoints.
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The two arrested individuals are residents of Churachandpur district. Further investigation is underway to identify other members of the cross-border network and trace the intended destination of the consignment.
NCB officials said intensified enforcement along traditional trafficking routes between Myanmar and India has forced criminal networks to alter their modus operandi. “Traffickers are now resorting to forest tracks and riverine routes to avoid detection,” an official said.
The seizure is part of the agency’s ongoing crackdown on narcotics smuggling along the northeastern frontier, which has emerged as a key transit zone for heroin and synthetic drugs entering India from the Golden Triangle.
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