Agartala, Jan 21 : In a meticulously planned operation, Assam Rifles seized huge quantities of highly addictive methamphetamine tablets worth Rs 12 crore in Tripura and arrested two drug peddlers, officials said on Tuesday.

A Defence spokesman said that acting on a secret operation, the Assam Rifles troopers arrested two drug peddlers and recovered 60,000 methamphetamine tablets also known as Yaba tablets, valued at Rs 12 crore from them in Salbagan areas of West Tripura district on Monday night.

The accused have been identified as Kanai Das (36) and Kishan Kumar Sarkar (32), both residents of West Tripura district. The seized drugs and the arrested individuals have been handed over to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence for further investigation and legal proceedings.

This operation underscores the unwavering commitment of Assam Rifles in combating smuggling and safeguarding the region from the menace of drug trafficking, the spokesman said.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha recently said that during the past three years, 1,665 cases were registered under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act 1985 and 2697 drug peddlers were arrested for their involvement in illegal activities.

Saha, who also holds the Home and Health and Family Welfare portfolios, said that during the last three years, drugs, including destruction of huge numbers of ganja (marijuana) plantations valued at Rs 1,587.47 crore were seized by the law-enforcing agencies, including the Tripura Police.

With the menace of various drugs, the number of HIV/AIDS-affected people rose to 10,126 in 2023 from 7,707 people in 2021. "Since 2015, at least, 512 people have died after becoming affected by HIV/AIDS,' the Chief Minister informed the Assembly.

He said that besides taking numerous steps against the drug menace and the spread of HIV/AIDS, the state government's 10 departments, including Home, Education, Health and Family Welfare, Sports and Youth Affairs, have jointly undertaken various awareness campaigns across the state. Seizure of drugs, mostly smuggled from Myanmar, is a regular occurrence in the northeastern states, especially in Mizoram, Assam, Tripura and Manipur.

Various drugs, especially heroin and highly addictive methamphetamine tablets are often smuggled into the northeastern states of India from Myanmar, which shares a 1,643 km-long unfenced border with four northeastern states -- Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Manipur (398 km), Nagaland (215 km) and Mizoram (510 km).

/IANS