Aizawl, Dec 18: Mizoram authorities arrested 13,256 people, including 100 foreign nationals—mostly from Myanmar—in drug- and alcohol-related cases between January 2024 and September 2025, State Excise and Narcotics Minister Lalnghinglova Hmar informed the assembly on Wednesday.
According to official data, the Excise and Narcotics Department registered 1,016 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, leading to 1,563 arrests. Under the Mizoram Liquor Prohibition (MLP) Act, 2025, 12,047 cases were filed, resulting in 10,906 arrests related to the sale, manufacture, import, or consumption of illicit liquor. In addition, 826 cases under the Mizoram Excise Act, 1973, led to the arrest of 787 people in three southern autonomous district councils.
During the period, authorities seized 80.594 kg of heroin, 425.144 kg of methamphetamine, 1.193 kg of opium, and 801 kg of ganja, much of which was intended for transport outside the state. Large quantities of country-made liquor, Indian-made foreign liquor, imported foreign liquor, beer, and illicit fruit wine were also confiscated. Drugs valued at Rs 71.64 crore were destroyed over the past two years since the Zoram People’s Movement government assumed office in December 2023.
Mizoram continues to be a dry state, with the manufacture, sale, import, and consumption of liquor prohibited under the MLP Act. In March 2025, the Mizoram Assembly amended the earlier law to allow the production of local wine and fruit beer from agricultural products. The related rules were notified in October, and a licensing committee has since been constituted.
The minister also stated that 88 people, including 14 women, have died due to drug overdose since January. He said a four-month “Jericho Operation,” involving the police, excise officials, and the Young Mizo Association, has been carried out to curb the supply of drugs. A detoxification centre was opened near Aizawl in June in collaboration with NGOs and church organisations, though manpower shortages continue to pose challenges for enforcement.
