New Delhi, Oct. 25 -- Simultaneous raids across Assam, Mizoram and Manipur led to the arrest of 18 people, the freezing of 1,424 bank accounts and the exposure of hawala transactions worth nearly Rs 100 crore, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday.
The operation, conducted on October 23, targeted an international narcotics cartel operating across India, Myanmar and Bangladesh. It also resulted in the attachment of properties worth Rs 17.82 crore and the seizure of 500 detonators and Rs 12 lakh in cash, Shah said in a post on X.
Calling the action 'Operation Trident', Shah said the network trafficked narcotics through the "Death Triangle Corridor" linking the three countries. Congratulating the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and police forces of the three states, he said the operation reflected the government's determination to eliminate drug networks by December 31, 2029.
The NCB deployed 38 multi-agency teams to conduct searches simultaneously at 38 locations, targeting the financial and operational infrastructure of the cartel led by Myanmar-based drug kingpin Thangcintuang, also known as Chintuang and Tluanga. He was arrested in May this year.
According to a government statement, the cartel routed methamphetamine and heroin through the Myanmar-Mizoram-Manipur-Assam-Tripura corridor into mainland India and Bangladesh.
The searches covered Aizawl, Champhai and Zokhawthar, a key trading town along the India-Myanmar border in Mizoram, as well as Churachandpur in Manipur and the Cachar transit corridor in Assam.
The operation followed intelligence-sharing, joint target mapping and coordinated investigations by the NCB, Mizoram Police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Authorities simultaneously targeted logistics centres and financial channels to prevent suspects from escaping and illicit assets from being concealed.
Investigators had earlier arrested key members of the network. Thangcintuang's close associate, Vungkhanthawna, who allegedly coordinated the movement and delivery of consignments originating in Myanmar, was arrested in May and subsequently detained under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The NCB had arrested alleged hawala operator Lalrampari on August 8, 2024. Abu Saleh alias Saifuddin, identified as the cartel's logistics head for the Assam corridor, was arrested in Cachar on November 20, 2025.
Investigations into these arrests and subsequent digital forensics and financial profiling revealed facilitators, shell entities and money mules linked to the network. The findings prompted coordinated action against suspected illicit assets and financial transactions.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.