Patna/Guwahati: Six people were arrested and 1,424 bank accounts frozen during a multi-agency crackdown on an alleged transnational drug trafficking and hawala network operating across Assam, Mizoram and Manipur, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Sunday.The operation, code-named Operation Trident, was launched on October 23 across 38 locations in the three states. The investigation revealed hawala transactions amounting to nearly Rs 100 crore and led to the provisional attachment of properties worth Rs 17.82 crore allegedly linked to Mizoram-based hawala operators.The coordinated action involved Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the ED, Mizoram Police and other security agencies. The ED’s Aizawl and Imphal sub-zonal offices conducted searches under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, at locations in Aizawl, Champhai and Lawngtlai in Mizoram, and Churachandpur in Manipur.The six people arrested in the latest action were identified as Kashyap G Thakkar, Thangkhuala and T Chatuan Vanlalgakha of Mizoram, and Zenngaihniang, alias Taniang; Nengzatuan Valte, alias Tuanpi; and H Gouzalal of Churachandpur.Taniang and Tuanpi were already in judicial custody under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and were formally arrested with the permission of the special NDPS judge in Churachandpur. Their arrests took the total number of arrests linked to the case to 18 over the past two years.Another alleged associate, Lalrampari, was identified as a major hawala operator who handled and channelled proceeds generated by the syndicate. She was arrested by the NCB on August 8, 2024. The investigation into the network’s financial transactions was subsequently shared with the ED.In a post on X, Union home minister Amit Shah wrote, “Modi govt’s lethal blows against drugs continue…Our agencies launched a barrage of simultaneous crackdowns across 38 locations in Assam, Mizoram and Manipur on 23 October, smashing an international narco-cartel. The operation revealed Rs 100 crore worth of hawala transactions, froze 1,424 bank accounts, attached properties worth Rs 17.82 crore, seized 500 detonators and Rs 12 lakh in cash, and led to the arrest of 18 people.”“The offensive attests to India’s Himalayan resolve to realise the mission of eradicating every drug network by December 31, 2029. India will hammer until the last nail is driven into the coffin of drug cartels,” he added.The NCB said 38 multi-agency teams were deployed simultaneously at 38 identified locations across the three states. “The coordinated strikes extensively covered key urban hubs and sensitive border corridors—including Aizawl, Champhai, and the strategic Indo-Myanmar border trading town of Zokhawthar in Mizoram, alongside linked operative bases in Churachandpur, Manipur and the Cachar in Assam transit corridor,” it stated.The money-laundering investigation stems from three FIRs registered under the NDPS Act, 1985.The first, known as the Krishiv Enterprise case, relates to the seizure of 4.722 kg of heroin by Zokhawthar Police in Champhai on March 14, 2025. The consignment was allegedly being transported to Aizawl for a Myanmar-based supplier.The second, the Jabrul Haque case, followed the NCB’s seizure of 49.101 kg of methamphetamine tablets and 40 grams of heroin from a convoy on NH-06A near Seling in Mizoram on August 21, 2025. The consignment was allegedly sourced from Chintuang in Myanmar for delivery at the Damchhera-Kanhmun border.The third case concerns Taniang and relates to the seizure of 2.413 kg of brown sugar and Rs 31.43 lakh in suspected drug proceeds by Churachandpur Police on July 2, 2026.Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote on X, “This is a huge blow to the international drugs cartel! Op Trident, carried out across Assam, Manipur and Mizoram has unearthed a huge drugs and hawala nexus being carried out in the region. The Union Govt and our State Govts in the North East are firm on tackling this menace and realising the goal of a #NashaMuktBharat and such relentless pursuit will continue against the mafias till we make drugs a history by 2029.”Manipur CM Khemchand Yumnam said the state remained committed to a drug-free India and a drug-free Manipur, protecting its youth and securing a safer future.
