Aizawl: At least 68 people, including 11 females, have died in Mizoram due to drug abuse since January, the state excise and narcotics department said.
The department said that all the victims died mainly due to heroin.
“Altogether, 68 people (57 male and 11 females) died of drug abuse from January till first December this year,” the department said.
The number of drug-related deaths in the current year has exceeded the previous year as 43 people, including 6 females, died due to drug abuse in 2022, an official of the Excise and Narcotics Department said.
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47 people died due to drugs in 2021, he said.
The northeastern state registered the first drug-related death due to heroin in 1984.
Since then, 1,804 people, including 218 females, have died due to drug abuse.
The highest number of drug-related deaths was reported in 2004 during which 143 people, including 21 females died, followed by 139 tolls in 2000.
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Mizoram is sandwiched between Myanmar and Bangladesh, with which it shares an 828-km-long international border.
Most of the drugs, especially heroin were smuggled from Myanmar.
The Excise and Narcotics Department also said that it has seized 76.21 kilograms of heroin since January, which is higher than the quantities it seized last year.
In 2022, the department seized 33.4 kilograms of heroin.
Between January and December 1, the department also seized 161.88 kilograms of ganja (cannabis), 103.38 kilograms of Methamphetamine tablets, 5.94 kilograms of Pseudo-Ephedrine, 367 grams of opium, other drugs and substantial quantities of alcohol.