Mizoram Police have arrested 460 foreign nationals, the majority of them from neighbouring Myanmar, for their involvement in crimes ranging from narcotics smuggling to arms trafficking and visa violations between 2020 and May 2025.
During the same period, drugs worth a staggering Rs 770.95 crore were seized in the state, underscoring Mizoram’s growing struggle against transnational crime.
Out of 15,673 people arrested in different criminal cases in the past five years, 14,432 were locals, 781 from other Indian states, and 460 foreigners, a news agency reported.
Of the foreign nationals, 439 were Myanmarese, 18 Bangladeshi, and three from other countries.
The arrests peaked in 2022, a year after the Myanmar military coup that triggered political unrest and a refugee influx into Mizoram. That year alone, 124 foreigners were apprehended, followed by 106 in 2023 and 89 in 2024. In the current year (till May), 57 foreigners, including 53 from Myanmar, have been held.
Crimes committed by these foreign nationals span narcotics and arms smuggling, forgery, burglary, theft, child sexual abuse, and violation of visa norms. Among the Myanmar nationals, 185 were arrested for drug smuggling, 66 for violating visa rules, 43 for arms and explosives smuggling, 40 for theft and burglary, and nine each for murder and child sexual abuse. Most others, including Bangladeshi nationals, were booked under the Foreigners Act.
Meanwhile, drug seizures have sharply escalated in recent years. The police recovered narcotics worth Rs 167.82 crore in 2020, Rs 51.83 crore in 2021, Rs 43.43 crore in 2022, Rs 189.66 crore in 2023, and Rs 211.63 crore in 2024.
Between January and May this year alone, drugs worth over Rs 106.56 crore—heroin, methamphetamine (including ‘crystal meth’), and cannabis—were seized.
The overall crime profile of Mizoram during the period reveals that theft and burglary dominate. Of the 15,673 arrested individuals, 5,495 cases of theft led to 3,704 arrests, while burglary accounted for 4,686 cases and 2,917 arrests. Besides this, 1,666 people were booked for drug trafficking, 254 under the Arms Act and Explosive Substances Act, and 1,694 under the Mizoram Liquor (Prohibition) Act.
Mizoram, which shares a porous 510-km border with Myanmar, has emerged as a frontline state in India’s fight against cross-border narcotics trafficking. Security agencies have repeatedly flagged the Golden Triangle—the tri-junction of Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand—as the main source of heroin and methamphetamine entering the Northeast.
The inflow of Myanmar nationals into Mizoram has been a sensitive issue since the 2021 coup. Thousands of refugees, mainly from the Chin community, fled to Mizoram due to ethnic and cultural ties with the Mizos. While the state government has extended humanitarian assistance, the police data now highlights the darker side of this inflow, with some refugees allegedly involved in organised crime networks.
Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma, while addressing the 15th Mizoram Police Service Association (MPSA) conference earlier this year, had urged collective action against drug trafficking, calling it “the biggest internal security and social threat to the state.”