ED busts cross-border narco-hawala network along Myanmar border, arresting six

Decisive crackdown on cross-border narco syndicate

The Enforcement Directorate has dismantled an extensive cross-border narco-hawala network operating along the India-Myanmar border, arresting six individuals, freezing 1,424 bank accounts, and attaching assets valued at Rs 26.01 crore.

The coordinated crackdown, executed alongside the Narcotics Control Bureau and Mizoram Police, targeted illicit financial channels and drug distribution routes spanning Mizoram and Manipur. Searches were conducted across multiple hubs including Aizawl, Champhai, Lawngtlai, and Churachandpur, covering front businesses, premises linked to hawala operatives, and a mini-ATM counter.

How the two-way narco-hawala trade operated

Investigators revealed that the syndicate operated a reciprocal supply chain across the 1,643-kilometre border via the Champhai-Zokhawthar sector. Precursor chemicals were smuggled from India into Myanmar to manufacture narcotics, while finished drugs flowed back into Indian territory for wider distribution.

Central agencies established that precursor shipments included 32 tonnes of Caffeine Anhydrous and 10 tonnes of Aluminium Chloride Anhydrous routed through front entities like M/s Krishiv Enterprises. These chemicals moved under regular e-way bills to small pharmacies lacking processing facilities before being moved across the border to Myanmar's tablet-pressing units to produce methamphetamine "Yaba" tablets.

In return, heroin, brown sugar, and methamphetamine crossed the Tiau river at Zokhawthar, moving along National Highway 06A to Aizawl, Assam, and Bangladesh. Drug proceeds were routed through mule bank accounts—whose holders admitted to renting account access for Rs 500 per lakh—before being transferred to border towns and sent back to Myanmar suppliers.

Strengthening national security along border corridors

The probe agency confirmed three arrests in Mizoram and three in Manipur under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. All six accused face trial in special PMLA courts.

This decisive multi-agency operation demonstrates the government's firm stance on securing India's borders, dismantling criminal syndicates, and cutting off illicit financial flows threatening regional stability.