ED busts Mizoram-Manipur drug hawala network, arrests six; freezes 1,424 bank accounts

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has busted a drug-linked hawala network operating along the India-Myanmar border, arresting six people, freezing 1,424 bank accounts and provisionally attaching assets worth Rs 26.01 crore following coordinated searches in Mizoram and Manipur.

The searches, launched on October 23, covered multiple locations in Aizawl, Champhai and Lawngtlai in Mizoram, and Churachandpur in Manipur. The operation was part of three money laundering investigations linked to the cross-border trafficking of heroin, brown sugar and methamphetamine tablets from Myanmar, the agency said in a statement on Sunday.

The ED carried out the operation in coordination with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Mizoram Police. Searches covered the premises of suspected hawala operators, holders of mule bank accounts, front businesses, a mini-ATM counter and bank branches holding key accounts linked to the alleged network.

According to the ED, 1,424 bank accounts connected to the drug trade and suspected narco-hawala operators in the two states have been frozen. Assets worth Rs 26.01 crore have also been provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Six accused persons, three each from Mizoram and Manipur, were arrested during the operation, the agency said.

The ED said the 1,643-km India-Myanmar border, described as porous, facilitates the movement of narcotics and related financial transactions, with the Champhai-Zokhawthar sector of Mizoram emerging as a key route.

According to the agency, precursor substances and chemicals used to dilute drugs are transported from India to Myanmar, while finished narcotics, including heroin, brown sugar and methamphetamine tablets, are brought into India in the opposite direction.

The drugs are allegedly transported across the Tiau river near Zokhawthar, opposite Khawmawi in Myanmar, before being moved to Champhai. From there, the consignments travel along the Champhai-Aizawl road and National Highway 6A towards Aizawl, Vairengte and the borders of Assam and Tripura.

The agency said heroin and methamphetamine tablets entering Mizoram and Manipur are consumed locally or transported further through Assam to other parts of India and Bangladesh.

Money generated through the alleged drug trade is subsequently routed back to border towns in Mizoram for settlement with suppliers based in Myanmar, according to the ED.

The ED also claimed that holders of mule bank accounts admitted during the investigation that they had rented out their accounts to suspected narco-hawala operators for Rs 500 per lakh.

Such accounts are allegedly used to move funds generated through the drug trade, making it harder to trace the proceeds to their original source.

The freezing of the accounts and attachment of assets form part of the agency's ongoing investigation into the suspected money laundering network operating across Mizoram and Manipur.