Guwahati, July 23: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has dismantled an India-Myanmar drug syndicate with the arrest of its alleged kingpin, a Myanmar national accused of directing the smuggling of methamphetamine tablets and heroin into India through the Northeast.
The accused, Nengzatuan alias Tuanpi, a resident of Haichin in Myanmar’s Chin State, was arrested in Manipur’s Churachandpur district following months of intelligence gathering, technical surveillance and coordinated operations involving multiple law enforcement agencies.
According to the NCB, Nengzatuan was one of the principal international suppliers operating from Chin State, overseeing a sophisticated trafficking network that routed methamphetamine tablets and heroin through Manipur, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura for distribution across India and Bangladesh.
Officials said the accused is wanted in multiple cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
“He is the principal accused in three NCB cases involving seizures of 28.22 kg of methamphetamine tablets and 1.278 kg of heroin, collectively valued at over ₹25 crore. He is also linked to seven other NDPS cases registered by Churachandpur Police, Singngat Police and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI),” an NCB official said.
Investigators said the syndicate operated through a well-organised transnational network comprising international suppliers, cross-border couriers, transport coordinators, local facilitators, receivers and financial handlers.
So far, the network has been linked to drug seizures and proceeds of crime worth more than ₹53 crore, while financial investigations are continuing to identify additional assets and associates.
The arrest follows a series of intelligence-led crackdowns in recent months that led to the arrest of several key operatives across Manipur and Assam, including Abdullah Ahmed of Silchar, alleged to be the principal receiver and coordinator of consignments entering Assam, along with Lalthlamuong Pulamte, Nengultinkhum Hrangngul and Paominlen Munlo from Manipur.
The NCB said technical surveillance, digital evidence, financial trails and sustained interrogation of arrested operatives enabled investigators to identify Nengzatuan as the Myanmar-based mastermind controlling the network from across the international border.
His arrest comes after the agency apprehended two other Myanmar-based traffickers—Lalhmingsanga in March and Thancintuang alias Chintuang alias Tluanga in May this year.
The agency said the successive arrests reflect a shift in strategy from merely intercepting narcotics consignments to dismantling the leadership of transnational drug trafficking organisations operating along the India-Myanmar border.
The NCB has appealed to the public to share information on drug trafficking through the MANAS National Narcotics Helpline (1933) or the MANAS portal, saying public cooperation is crucial to disrupting organised narcotics networks.
