Mizoram: Kingpin of transnational drug syndicate, seven others arrested by NCB-CRPF

Mizoram: In a joint operation conducted by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), a consignment of 5.9 kg of methamphetamine was seized near Aizawl in 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 district in Assam, was arrested along with the others on Wednesday, according to an NCB statement. He is a habitual narcotics trafficker with three drug trafficking cases registered against him, including one in Dharmanagar Police Station in Tripura, in which he is currently out on bail.

Preliminary investigation has revealed that the drugs were smuggled across the Indo-Myanmar border near Champhai and were being transported to Sonamura in Tripura for further trafficking into Bangladesh.

This is the second significant arrest of a drug trafficker by the NCB in the North-Eastern region in the past 15 days. Earlier, Abu Saleh Md. Saifuddin alias Mitu — also a member of a transnational drug syndicate operating in the North East — was arrested in Guwahati by NCB on November 20. He, too, has several drug trafficking cases registered against him.

The NCB stated that a new regional office has been established in Guwahati to enhance coordination with state authorities, facilitate real-time intelligence sharing, and improve operational efficiency. Additionally, new zonal units have been opened in Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh), Siliguri (West Bengal), and Agartala (Tripura), while field offices have been set up and made operational in Aizawl (Mizoram) and Dimapur (Nagaland).

The NCB’s footprint in Mizoram has expanded significantly following the establishment of the Agartala Zonal Unit in January 2024 and the operationalisation of the Aizawl Field Office in February this year. These steps have led to the seizure of 256 kg of methamphetamine and 2.2 kg of heroin, as well as the registration of 13 NDPS cases, in which 46 people have been arrested over the last two years.

Increased collaboration between the NCB, central intelligence agencies, and state police has also resulted in major recoveries of drug consignments of meth and heroin being smuggled into the North-Eastern states from the Indo-Myanmar border.

To further strengthen coordination among central and state agencies in the region, the NCB organised a two-day Regional ANTF Conference in Dimapur on November 13 and 14. It has also conducted State-Level Joint Coordination Committee meetings in Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Tripura to support in-depth investigations against drug syndicates.