In a major crackdown on cross-border narcotics networks, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday carried out its first-ever raids along the India–Myanmar border in Mizoram in connection with a drug-linked money laundering case. The searches were conducted in Aizawl and Champhai in Mizoram, Sribhumi in Assam, and Ahmedabad in Gujarat under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
According to officials, the operation stems from a Mizoram Police FIR related to the seizure of 4.72 kg of heroin worth ₹1.41 crore from six people. During Thursday’s searches, the ED seized ₹35 lakh in cash and several digital devices believed to hold evidence of financial transactions tied to the drug trafficking network.
This marks the first time the ED has raided locations along the sensitive India–Myanmar corridor, a region known for its porous border and vulnerability to narcotics and precursor chemical smuggling. India shares a 1,643-km border with Myanmar, making it a critical zone in the fight against drug networks linked to the Golden Triangle.
Officials said their financial analysis uncovered strong linkages between Mizoram-based firms and Gujarat companies supplying pseudoephedrine tablets and caffeine anhydrous, both used as precursor chemicals for manufacturing methamphetamine. Several Kolkata-based shell companies were also found to be involved in procuring these chemicals.
The investigation revealed ₹52.8 crore in suspicious deposits across bank accounts belonging to narco-hawala operators in Mizoram, Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, West Bengal, and Delhi. These networks allegedly funnel precursor chemicals across the border to Myanmar, where methamphetamine is produced before being smuggled back into India.
The ED is questioning multiple hawala operators as part of the ongoing operation. Officials said the raids highlight the agency’s commitment to dismantling narcotics-funded financial networks fuelling organised crime and insurgency in the Northeast.
