ED arrests four more accused, including Myanmar national, in cross-border drug network
Chintuang was a Myanmar-based supplier of the 49.1 kg methamphetamine consignment seized in August 2025, while Lalrammuana was the main handler and Jabrul Haque its intended receiver at Damchhera-Kanhmun border; Abu Saleh was allegedly the operator whose account received ₹11.44 crore
The Enforcement Directorate has apprehended four additional suspects, including a citizen from Myanmar, as part of their ongoing investigation into an international "narco-hawala" drug trafficking network. This follows a recent multi-agency operation targeting the network, which uncovered financial records indicating that drug suppliers in Myanmar were also paid in kind.
During the previous round of raids as part of Operation Trident, 18 suspects were arrested across Assam, Mizoram, and Manipur, and ₹100 crore in "hawala" transactions were discovered. The latest arrests involve Thangcintuang alias Chintuang, a Myanmar national; Lalrammuana from Mizoram's Champhai district; Jabrul Haque from Sribhumi; and Abu Saleh Md Saif Uddin from Assam's Karimganj.
They have been taken into custody in connection with cases registered by the Narcotics Control Bureau and have been placed in jail for interrogation.
Chintuang is alleged to be the supplier of a 49.1 kg methamphetamine shipment seized on August 21, 2025. Lalrammuana is reported to be the primary handler, with Jabrul Haque serving as the intended recipient at the Damchhera-Kanhmun border. Abu Saleh is said to have operated the account that received ₹11.44 crore, including ₹6.67 crore in cash, and funded the Champhai "hawala" accounts.
The Enforcement Directorate seized cash books, registers, and notebooks containing handwritten accounts related to Zenngaihniang's "hawala" business during searches at her premises in Churachandpur town. The records indicate a daily currency-exchange and "hawala" operation involving Indian currencies received in cash and deposited into bank accounts from various parts of India, converted into Myanmar Kyat at rates of 42 to 48 Kyat per Rupee.
Transaction amounts ranged up to ₹54.47 lakh daily, with cumulative transactions exceeding 43 crore Kyat.
The agency discovered that ₹1.14 crore was paid to a single handler within a week in April 2025. Additional findings include seven signed ₹10 notes suspected to have been used as tokens for identifying recipients of "hawala" payments, documents for an immovable property purchased for ₹60 lakh in the name of Zenngaihniang, and the freezing of 991 bank accounts linked to the Churachandpur network.
The agency claims that ledgers from Go Alpha Trip, a mini-ATM counter, and statements from a related Mizoram case revealed that drug money was also converted into ordinary goods to pay in kind. These goods were supplied to various businesses in India, including a flour mill, edible oil trader, filling stations, grocery wholesalers, footwear and cloth traders, and Myanmar.
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