look news india
India’s security agencies and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) have carried out the biggest joint operation ever, breaking the back of the international drugs syndicate operating in the most notorious ‘Death Triangle Corridor’ of the North-East. This secret and multi-layered mission was named ‘Operation Trident’, under which central agencies conducted massive raids on 38 sensitive locations simultaneously in the inaccessible areas of Assam, Mizoram and Manipur. The main objective of this historic operation was not just to seize the drug consignment, but to uproot the entire financial structure and supply network of this narco-hawala network operating from across the border.
During this mega crackdown, the investigating agencies have exposed the secret links of illegal hawala business worth Rs 100 crore and frozen 1424 suspicious bank accounts involved in international transactions with immediate effect. Along with this, unaccounted cash worth Rs 17.82 crore has been recovered from various locations and 18 main accused associated with this syndicate have been sent behind the bars. Confirming this major success, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah reiterated India’s unwavering resolve to make the country completely drug-free by 31 December 2029.
According to the investigating agencies, this international narco-cartel was running illegal movement of narcotics through the ‘Death Triangle Corridor’, the meeting point of the international borders of India, Myanmar and Bangladesh. High-grade synthetic drugs, methamphetamine and heroin, produced in areas with insurgent background in Myanmar, were smuggled into the northeastern states through border routes. After this, this illegal consignment was consumed in the major metros of India and the border districts of Bangladesh.
The gang’s main operational center remained the state of Mizoram, from where the entire network was controlled, while Manipur and Assam were being used as major transit routes. The exact blueprint of this operation was prepared after several months of secret meetings and financial tracking between the central security agencies, Intelligence Bureau and local police units. In this raid, which started in the early hours of October 23, the central forces suddenly raided Aizawl, Champhai in Mizoram and Jokhathar, a commercial town located on the India-Myanmar border, and did not give the smugglers any chance to escape.
The most important success of ‘Operation Trident’ was to destroy its financial system. Financial experts of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and NCB found that the Hawala network was being used on a large scale to launder huge amounts of money earned from the sale of drugs and send it to Myanmar-based kingpins. Money laundering of more than Rs 100 crore was being done through 1424 bank accounts opened on local businessmen, shell companies and fake names of North-East, which was identified and immediately sealed with the help of digital forensic tools.
The links of this syndicate were spread from Delhi to Myanmar. After weeks of surveillance and digital tracking in various states, the agencies nabbed key associate Thangsintuang alias Chintuang alias Tluanga from Delhi. Investigation revealed that the top leader of this gang creates the entire maze by sitting in a safe place in Myanmar and more than 10 serious cases of NDPS Act are registered against him in Mizoram alone. However, Vungkhanthana, which handles the logistics and delivery of consignments coming from Myanmar within the Indian border, was also cordoned off and arrested by the agencies.
NCB investigation also revealed that this network is not just a product of recent times, but was on the radar of security agencies for many years. Earlier, the hawala manager of this gang, Lalrampari, was sent behind the bars only two years ago. At the same time, Abu Saleh alias Saifuddin, the main culprit of inter-state movement of drugs in Cachar region of Assam, was caught only last year. It was only after analyzing the digital data and call records of these earlier arrests that the outline of ‘Operation Trident’ was decided, which completely eliminated the remaining smugglers on the Churachandpur in Manipur and Cachar Transit Corridor in Assam.
While giving information on the social media platform ‘X’, Union Home Minister Amit Shah made it clear that until narco-terror and drugs cartels are completely eliminated from the country, this tough attack by the security forces will continue. He appreciated the excellent inter-state coordination of Assam, Mizoram and Manipur police as well as the central agencies. This major action has not only neutralized the narco-nexus operating in the North-East but has also dealt a deep blow to anti-national financial activities taking place across the border.