Photo Courtesy: nenow
Itanagar: Security forces arrested two Myanmar nationals near Nongkey Village in the Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh on Friday. The joint operation involved the 21 Assam Rifles and Changlang District Police. Officers recovered 130.09 grams of suspected brown sugar, also identified as heroin, packed inside 10 soap cases. The stash carries an estimated value of Rs 26 lakhs on the international market.
Both suspects remain in custody at the Nampong police station where officials are conducting interrogations. Arunachal Pradesh Home Minister Mama Natung praised the operation on social media. "Another major blow to cross-border drug trafficking," Natung stated. He added that the mission remains part of a broader push to dismantle regional illicit networks.
Changlang has turned into a major transit route for narcotics entering India from Myanmar. These drugs often move from the border into Tinsukia and across Upper Assam. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma confirmed this shift in trafficking patterns. Sources suggest the region is struggling with a massive racket as Myanmar remains the world's largest producer of illicit opium.
The area sits near the Golden Triangle, a historical hub for heroin production. Insurgent groups in the Northeast frequently aid smugglers by identifying routes across the porous border. Local authorities have launched a wide crackdown to curb the inflow of contraband from these foreign factories.
Updated at 30th August 2026 at 9:48am
The operation occurred on August 28 based on specific intelligence leads regarding the cross-border smuggling ring. Security forces report that this arrest is part of a wider series of crackdowns across the region intended to sever the connection between local insurgent factions and foreign drug syndicates.
The intensity of these trafficking operations spans across state lines. In a separate operation on August 27 in Aizawl, Mizoram, authorities seized 878 grams of methamphetamine tablets valued at Rs 2.63 crore. Additionally, security forces intercepted a major haul of contraband in Zotlang on August 28, seizing 437 bags containing over 32,000 kilograms of areca nuts with a market value of Rs 3.44 crore.
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