ED raids across three states uncover ₹142-crore cross-border drug money trail

Guwahati, June 9: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted coordinated searches across Tripura, Mizoram and West Bengal in connection with a major cross-border drug trafficking and money laundering network involving suspected proceeds of crime exceeding ₹142 crore.

The raids, carried out by the ED’s Aizawl Sub-Zonal Office on June 8 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), stem from an investigation linked to a Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) case involving the seizure of 49.1 kg of methamphetamine tablets and 40 grams of heroin in Mizoram last year.

According to the ED, the probe has exposed an organised interstate and international drug syndicate that allegedly sourced methamphetamine from suppliers based in Myanmar and smuggled it into India through the Champhai-Zokhawthar sector of Mizoram before routing it to recipients in Tripura.

Investigators said the syndicate used a complex network of bank accounts, shell entities, cash transactions and hawala channels to launder drug proceeds and conceal the identities of beneficiaries. So far, suspicious financial transactions worth more than ₹142 crore have been detected.

The agency said two key figures in the network — Myanmar-based supplier Chintuang alias Tluanga and transportation facilitator Jabrul Haque — have already been arrested by the NCB.

The latest searches targeted four individuals and entities allegedly linked to the syndicate, including two suspected receivers of the seized consignment from Tripura, a Mizoram-based account holder whose bank account reportedly showed credits exceeding ₹33 crore, and a West Bengal-based business suspected of being used to route illicit funds.

In a striking discovery, ED officials recovered more than 25 CCTV cameras mounted on trees around the residences of two suspects near the India-Bangladesh border, apparently to monitor movement in the forested border areas.

Search teams, assisted by CRPF and BSF personnel, also seized digital devices, incriminating documents and other materials believed to be linked to the laundering of drug proceeds.

The case is being seen as one of the largest money laundering investigations linked to narcotics trafficking in the Northeast, highlighting the growing role of international border routes in the movement of drugs and illicit funds.

Further investigation is underway.

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