By Mrinal Kanti Banik
Agartala: Acting on specific inputs, security forces seized around 9,427 Yaba tablets valued at approximately Rs 50 lakh during a joint operation conducted by the police and Border Security Force (BSF) near the India-Bangladesh border in Tripura’s North district on Saturday.
The operation was carried out in the Raghna international border area under the jurisdiction of Dharmanagar police station by personnel of BSF’s 97 Battalion in coordination with state police.
Officials said BSF troops alerted the police after receiving intelligence about suspected narcotics being stored in the border zone. Following this, a joint search operation was launched near the Raghna Integrated Check Post (ICP).
During the search, security personnel recovered 48 packets containing Yaba tablets from an area close to the border fencing. Upon verification, the consignment was found to contain 9,427 tablets, officials confirmed.
Preliminary findings suggest that the drugs were allegedly kept near the border for smuggling into Bangladesh. Authorities suspect the traffickers abandoned the consignment and fled after detecting security movement in the area.
The seized narcotics are estimated to be worth around Rs 50 lakh in the illegal market. The contraband has been handed over to Dharmanagar police, and legal proceedings have been initiated under relevant provisions of law.
Security has been further tightened in the border region following the seizure, and a joint investigation by police and BSF is underway to trace and apprehend those involved in the smuggling network.