Mizoram Governor General Vijay Kumar Singh (retired) on Wednesday said drug menace in the state has assumed alarming proportions and has become a major cause of concern to the government.

Addressing the inaugural sitting of the budget session of the state assembly, General Singh said the state’s excise and narcotics department, along with other law enforcement agencies, have been making all-out efforts to curb the menace.

He emphasised the need for more vigilance to check the problem. “The menace of drug trafficking and abuse has assumed alarming proportions today and is of much concern to my government,” General Singh said.

He said overall the state remained peaceful and “no major law and order problem occurred last year due to the pro-active role and constant monitoring by the state police.”

“Mizoram Police has been performing arduous duties for preventing disturbances along the inter-state boundaries. In order to ensure that international border areas are secured from anti-national elements, the state police, in collaboration with border guarding forces such as Assam Rifles and Border Security Force (BSF), is also conducting patrolling in these areas,” he said.

Mizoram shares 325-km long inter-state boundaries with Assam, Tripura and Manipur, and 510-km long international border with Myanmar in the east and 318-km with Bangladesh in the west.

General Singh said 600 drug traffickers were arrested and prosecuted with 441 drug-related cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act of 1985 in the current financial year.

“A total of 429 kg of various kinds of drugs have been seized, and 37 foreigners were arrested in narcotic cases during this fiscal,” he said.

Additionally, he pointed out that “4,364 people were arrested for violations of the Mizoram Liquor (Prohibition) Act, 2019, with 4,862 cases registered under the liquor law, which prohibits sale, manufacture, and consumption of liquor.”

The 30-day budget session began on Wednesday and will end on March 20.

Chief Minister Lalduhoma, who also holds the finance portfolio, will present the budget on March 4.