State Excise and Narcotics Minister Lalnghinghlova Hmar told the legislature on Wednesday that drug misuse had killed at least 351 people in Mizoram in the past five years, including 46 women. Hmar stated in a written response to a query from K Laldawngliana, a member of the opposition Mizo National Front, that between 2020 and August 8 of this year, 273 individuals died from drug abuse, while 78 out of 351 people perished from heroin abuse.
According to him, the victims ranged in age from 19 to 57. According to him, the greatest number of drug-related fatalities during that time was 76 in 2023, followed by 67 in 2020 and 2024. According to him, between January and August 8 of this year, drug misuse claimed the lives of 51 people, including seven women.
Of the 11 districts in Mizoram, Aizawl had the most drug-related deaths (274), followed by Lunglei, the second-largest district in the state (69). 58 people were killed in the Champhai district, which is close to Myanmar, according to Hmar.
According to him, the Haththial district had the fewest fatalities, at only one. Hmar stated that during that time, the Excise and Narcotics Department confiscated a total of ₹152.43 crore worth of drugs, including 212.987 kg of heroin, 568.991 kg of methamphetamine, and 1,566.662 kg of ganja.
According to him, 4,400 persons were also detained and charged at that time under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. Home Minister K Sapdanga announced on Tuesday that the state police would begin a big war on narcotics in collaboration with the Excise Department and the state’s main civil society organization, the Young Mizo Association. He claimed that drug addicts and smugglers put society at peril by stealing and committing other crimes, which calls for action.
Drug usage and trafficking from south-east Asian nations, especially Myanmar, with whom Mizoram shares a porous border spanning 510 km, have been a threat to the region. 185 citizens of Myanmar were arrested for drug smuggling offenses between 2020 and May 2025, according to police data that PTI was able to access. Mizoram’s proximity to the ‘Golden Triangle’—a hilly area in northeastern Myanmar, northwest Thailand, and northern Laos known for drug production and trafficking—has recently been attributed by Chief Minister Lalduhoma to the state’s consistent drug intake.
