Assam Rifles and Mizoram excise and narcotics department seized 90 grams of heroin and arrested two drug peddlers for possessing the contraband at Tuirial airfield near Aizawl.

The contraband recovered is worth Rs 40.5 lakh and was believed to be smuggled from Myanmar, Assam Rifles sources said.

The two drug peddlers have been booked under relevant sections of “The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

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The drug racket in Mizoram has become a major cause of concern for the state government and law enforcement agencies.

A large number of youths are getting hooked to drug abuse, which in turn is leading to an increased incidence of HIV-positive cases.

Intravenous drug users are increasingly getting infected with HIV because of sharing needles while injecting drugs into their bodies.

Although the Assam Rifles in collaboration with the state police and different departments concerned have been conducting raids in different parts of Mizoram, cross-border smuggling of drugs and other goods are only on the rise.