Guwahati, May 18: In a major crackdown on cross-border narcotics networks, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested a key Myanmar-based drug trafficker accused of operating a large methamphetamine and heroin supply chain across Northeast India.

The accused, identified as Thancintuang alias Chintuang alias Tluanga, was arrested in Delhi following specific intelligence inputs, according to official sources.

He is the second major Myanmar-based drug supplier arrested by the NCB this year.

Investigators said Chintuang had emerged as one of the most significant traffickers operating along the Myanmar–Mizoram–Manipur–Assam–Tripura corridor and was allegedly involved in supplying large quantities of methamphetamine and heroin from across the border.

He was wanted in multiple cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act by the NCB and other drug law enforcement agencies.

According to officials, Chintuang is linked to at least seven NDPS cases connected to the Myanmar–Mizoram–Tripura–Assam route and is also suspected to be involved in five additional cases linked to the Myanmar–Manipur–Assam corridor.

He was named as the prime accused in a 2024 NCB Agartala zonal case involving the seizure of 14 kg of methamphetamine and 2.8 kg of heroin. He was also the prime accused in another Agartala zonal case registered in 2025 involving the seizure of 49.1 kg of methamphetamine tablets.

During the course of the investigation, the NCB had identified and arrested several members of the syndicate and close associates linked to Chintuang.

Investigators said the probe uncovered a highly organised interstate and international drug trafficking network stretching from Myanmar through Mizoram, Manipur, Assam and Tripura, with links extending into Bangladesh.

The arrest is being seen as a significant breakthrough in the agency’s ongoing efforts to dismantle transnational drug trafficking networks operating in the Northeast.