North East Narco Trade Network Attacked under Amit Shah Program

Ø UHM Amit Shah says, our agencies launched simultaneous crackdowns across 38 locations in Assam, Mizoram and Manipur, smashing an international narco-cartel

Ø The offensive attests to India’s Himalayan resolve to realise the mission of eradicating every drug network by 31 December 2029

Ø UHM congratulates the anti-narcotics team comprising central agencies, and police forces of the three states

Ø The operation revealed ₹100 crore hawala transactions, froze 1,424 bank accounts, attached properties worth ₹17.82 crore

Ø 500 detonators and ₹12 lakh in cash were also seized and 18 people arrested

Ø The network trafficked narcotics across the borders of India, Myanmar and Bangladesh through the Death Triangle Corridor

Ø In line with Vision Document on Narcotics Control (2026-2029), Operation exemplifies shift from a seizure-centric to a network-centric and financial disruption approach to uproot transnational syndicates

Ø India will hammer until the last nail is driven into the coffin of drug cartels

· The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), in coordination with central agencies and state police, launched Operation Trident on October 23, 2026, conducting simultaneous searches at 38 locations across Assam, Mizoram and Manipur.

· The operation targeted an international drug-trafficking network involved in moving methamphetamine and heroin across India, Myanmar and Bangladesh.

· Authorities uncovered approximately ₹100 crore in hawala transactions, froze 1,424 bank accounts and attached properties worth ₹17.82 crore.

· The crackdown resulted in the seizure of 500 detonators and ₹12 lakh in cash, with 18 people arrested.

· Investigations exposed a network of alleged kingpins, facilitators, hawala operators and logistics coordinators involved in cross-border narcotics trafficking.

· The operation reflects the government’s shift towards a network-centric approach, targeting the financial infrastructure and operations of drug syndicates, in line with the Vision Document on Narcotics Control (2026–2029).

· Union Home Minister Amit Shah congratulated the participating agencies and reiterated the government’s target of eradicating drug networks by December 31, 2029.

[ABS News Service/26.10.2026]

In a lethal blow against drugs by Modi Government, NCB launches ‘Operation Trident’, with 38 teams striking 38 locations simultaneously across Assam, Mizoram, and Manipur. The crackdown is in line with Modi Govt’s policy of Zero Tolerance against Drugs and strategic shift from a seizure-centric to a network-centric approach. The massive three-state multiagency blitzkrieg was launched against transnational narco-financial syndicates across Assam, Mizoram and Manipur. In line with Vision Document on Narcotics Control (2026-2029), Operation exemplifies shift from a seizure-centric to a network-centric and financial disruption approach to uproot transnational syndicates. 

In a post on X platform, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah said “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 ₹100 crore worth of hawala transactions, froze 1,424 bank accounts, attached properties worth ₹17.82 crore, seized 500 detonators and ₹12 lakh in cash, and led to the arrest of 18 people.

The network trafficked narcotics across the borders of India, Myanmar and Bangladesh through the Death Triangle Corridor. The offensive attests to India’s Himalayan resolve to realise the mission of eradicating every drug network by 31 December 2029. India will hammer until the last nail is driven into the coffin of drug cartels. Heartiest congratulations to the anti-narcotics team comprising central agencies, and police forces of the three states.”

‘Operation Trident’

Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) spearheaded “Operation Trident” in the early hours of 23 October 2026. In an extraordinary demonstration of multi-agency synergy, the NCB, in seamless coordination with Mizoram Police and Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched a massive, simultaneous crack-down to dismantle the operational and financial backbone of a major transnational drug trafficking cartel. Meticulous Multi-Agency Planning & Synchronised Execution Operation Trident represents a benchmark in institutional cohesion in intelligence sharing & operational planning to target drug kingpins & their associates in Mizoram. Preceded by days of covert intelligence fusion, joint target-mapping, and high-level tactical briefings among central and state enforcement agencies, the operation was meticulously designed to simultaneously strike both the logistics nodes and the illicit financial arteries of the syndicates.

Acting with surgical precision under a unified command structure, 38 multi-agency composite teams were mobilised concurrently across 38 pre-identified locations spanning the three North-Eastern states of Assam, Mizoram, and Manipur. 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/Assam transit corridor. Despite challenging terrain and vast geographical spread, exceptional inter-departmental coordination ensured that all searches,

enquiries, and financial audits were executed simultaneously, preventing the flight of suspects or the concealment of illicit assets.

Brief Background: Unravelling the Transnational Cartel

The multi-state operation stems from sustained, intelligence-led backward and forward linkage investigations initiated by the NCB, Mizoram Police and Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the network cases identified for thorough 360-degree probe. Sustained probes unmasked a prolific transnational syndicate led by Myanmar-based kingpin Thangcintuang @ Chintuang @ Tluanga (wanted in over 10 NDPS cases across NCB, Champhai Police, and Mizoram Excise), who orchestrated the cross-border routing of Methamphetamine and Heroin across the Myanmar–Mizoram–Manipur–Assam–Tripura corridor into mainland India and Bangladesh. Prior phases of the investigation successfully neutralised key pillars of this cartel, including:

Thangcintuang @ Chintuang @ Tluanga (Kingpin): Arrested from Delhi following intensive inter-state surveillance, intelligence development, and sustained follow-up operations.

Vungkhanthawna (Key Facilitator): Close associate coordinating movement and delivery of Myanmar-origin consignments; arrested and subsequently detained under the stringent PITNDPS Act.

Lalrampari (Primary Hawala Operator): Arrested by NCB on 08.08.2024; investigations exposed nearly ₹100 Crore in illicit hawala transactions linked to the network, prompting joint action with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and freezing of illegally acquired properties.

Abu Saleh @ Saifuddin (Assam Corridor Logistics Head): Arrested from Cachar, Assam on 20.11.2025; major Indian operative coordinating narcotics transportation across the Assam corridor and linked to multiple NDPS cases.

Detailed financial profiling and digital forensics from these breakthroughs revealed a wider web of facilitators, shell entities, and money mules, necessitating the massive, synchronized strike of Operation Trident.