India, Aug. 18 -- On the evening of August 12, security forces stopped a vehicle near the India-Myanmar border in Saitual, Mizoram and seized nearly 1kg of heroin packed in 73 plastic soap cases. Around the same time, at Senapati, Manipur, the police intercepted a vehicle and arrested a man carrying nearly half a kilogram of heroin concealed in 37 soap cases. Hours later, around midnight, in Guwahati, Assam, the police caught two men with half a kilogram of heroin packed into 10 soap cases near the city's interstate bus terminus.

Three busts involving the same drug, three different states, all in a single night - and all involving an unusual prop, soap cases.

Security forces officials and state police are not surprised.

Across many pol...