India will hammer until the last nail is driven into the coffin of drug cartel, HM shah
New Delhi, October 25 (MExN): Eighteen people were arrested during a coordinated anti-drug operation conducted at 38 locations across Assam, Mizoram and Manipur on October 23, targeting a transnational drug-trafficking network and its financial operations, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The operation, code-named ‘Operation Trident’, was spearheaded by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in coordination with the Mizoram Police, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and other agencies.
According to an MHA press release issued on October 25, the operation resulted in the freezing of 1,424 bank accounts and the attachment of properties worth Rs 17.82 crore.
Authorities also seized 500 detonators and Rs 12 lakh in cash. The ministry reported hawala transactions worth nearly Rs 100 crore linked to the network.
The operation was launched in the early hours of October 23, with 38 multi-agency teams deployed simultaneously across the three states. The locations included Aizawl, Champhai and the border trading town of Zokhawthar in Mizoram, Churachandpur in Manipur, and the Cachar corridor in Assam.
The operation followed investigations by the NCB, Mizoram Police and ED into a network allegedly involved in trafficking methamphetamine and heroin from Myanmar through Mizoram, Manipur, Assam and Tripura, with onward links to mainland India and Bangladesh, the release said.
Earlier arrests helped map network
The MHA said the network trafficked narcotics across India, Myanmar and Bangladesh through what it described as the “Death Triangle Corridor”. Investigations by the NCB, Mizoram Police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) traced the network’s operations and financial links, leading to the coordinated raids under Operation Trident.
According to the ministry, the syndicate was allegedly led by Myanmar-based Thangcintuang, also known as Chintuang or Tluanga, who was wanted in more than 10 NDPS cases and was subsequently arrested in Delhi.
Other key operatives included Vungkhanthawna, an alleged facilitator detained under the PITNDPS Act; Lalrampari, arrested in August 2024 over alleged hawala operations involving nearly Rs 100 crore; and Abu Saleh alias Saifuddin, arrested in Cachar in November 2025 for his alleged role in narcotics logistics.
The ministry said financial profiling and digital forensics helped identify additional facilitators, shell entities and money mules, leading to the coordinated raids under Operation Trident.
Shah lauds coordinated action
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in a post on X on October 25, described the operation as another “lethal blow” by the PM Modi government against drugs, demonstrating coordinated action against transnational drug trafficking.
“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,” he added, lauding the anti-narcotics teams comprising central agencies and police forces from the three states.
The operation is part of the Centre’s stated approach under the Vision Document on Narcotics Control 2026–2029, which places emphasis on disrupting trafficking networks and their financial infrastructure alongside seizures of narcotics, it said.
The ministry said the broader objective was to eliminate drug networks by December 31, 2029.
