Aizawl, Mar 7 (PTI) In the biggest drug haul by a joint team of the Assam Rifles and the Mizoram Police this year, heroin worth Rs 37.75 crore was seized in Champhai district, an official said on Thursday.

The seizure was made near the country's border with Myanmar on Wednesday, and a person was arrested for transporting the contraband, an Assam Riffles officer said.

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Acting on a tip-off, Assam Rifles personnel and policemen intercepted a truck at Melbuk road junction at Zokhawthar and recovered 5.39 kilogram of the narcotics substance from the vehicle, she said.

The seized heroin worth Rs 37.75 crore was kept in ginger packets and suspectedly smuggled from Myanmar, the officer said.

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It is the biggest heroin seizure by a combined force of the Assam Rifles and the Mizoram Police in the current year, she said.

The vehicle used for transporting the contraband was also seized, she said, adding that the consignment and the accused were handed over to the Zokhawthar Police Station for legal proceedings.

In a separate operation, a 35-year-old Myanmar national was arrested after 1.3 kg of heroin worth Rs 9.6 crore was seized from his possession in Champai district, another official said.

Acting on a tip-off, Assam Rifles personnel carried out a search operation in Zokhawthar village on Tuesday, and seized the contraband from the possession of the Myanmerese, he said.

They recovered the drug from 100 soap boxes, the Assam Rifles official said, adding that the man smuggled the contraband into India from the neighbouring country.

They handed over the accused person and the seized drug to the state police in Zokhawthar for further action.

In another operation, the Mizoram Police discovered poppy cultivation in Siaha district near the Myanmar border for the first time.

The poppy farm located between Khaikhy village in Siaha and Rala village in Myanmar's Chin state was discovered on Wednesday by locals, who informed the authorities, a police statement said.

A joint team of policemen, Assam Rifles personnel, volunteers of a civil society organisation and officials of the forest department and the Mara Autonomous District Council (MADC) rushed to the spot and destroyed the plantation, which is worth around Rs 32 lakh, it said.

The matter is being investigated, and a search for the owner of the farm is on, the statement added.

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