Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi/Imphal, Oct 25: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted coordinated searches across Mizoram and Manipur in connection with three money laundering cases linked to cross-border drug trafficking from Myanmar and narco-hawala operations, freezing 1,424 bank accounts and provisionally attaching properties worth Rs 17.82 crore.
The action, carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), brings the total value of assets secured in the cases to over Rs 26 crore. Six accused have been arrested, while proceedings to formally arrest four others, who are currently in judicial custody in narcotics cases, are being processed, the central probe agency said on Sunday.
The ED's Aizawl and Imphal Sub-Zonal offices conducted the searches on October 23 at multiple premises in Aizawl, Champhai and Lawngtlai in Mizoram and Churachandpur in Manipur. The operation was undertaken in coordination with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Mizoram Police, which carried out parallel action against the trafficking network.
The three money laundering investigations arose from FIRs registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, concerning the trafficking of heroin, brown sugar and methamphetamine tablets from Myanmar and the hawala settlement of drug proceeds.
According to the ED, the investigation has uncovered an interconnected narco-hawala network in which the same set of bank accounts in Champhai, Aizawl and Lawngtlai received drug money generated in Manipur, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura and channelled it towards suppliers in Myanmar.
The Northeast, which shares a porous 1,643-km border with Myanmar, has emerged as a major land corridor for drugs produced in the Golden Triangle. Heroin and methamphetamine tablets entering Mizoram and Manipur are consumed locally or transported through Assam to other parts of India and Bangladesh. The proceeds generated along this trafficking chain are routed back to border towns in Mizoram to settle payments with Myanmar-based suppliers, the agency said.
The ED found that the trafficking corridor operates in both directions through the Champhai-Zokhawthar sector of Mizoram. In one direction, precursor and cutting chemicals are transported from India to Myanmar, where they are allegedly used in the production of synthetic drugs.
M/s Krishiv Enterprises dispatched approximately 32 tonnes of Caffeine Anhydrous in 15 consignments between March and November 2024, besides 10 tonnes of Aluminium Chloride Anhydrous. The consignments were sent against regular e-way bills and GST invoices to small retail pharmacies and a general store in Aizawl and the Mizoram border belt, none of which had manufacturing or processing facilities of their own.
The chemicals were allegedly moved across the border through these front consignees to tablet-pressing units in Myanmar. Caffeine Anhydrous was used to bulk up and dilute methamphetamine in the manufacture of 'Yaba' tablets, the investigation revealed.
In the opposite direction, finished consignments of heroin, brown sugar and methamphetamine tablets produced in Myanmar were transported across the Tiau river at Zokhawthar, opposite Khawmawi in Myanmar. The drugs were then brought to Champhai and moved along the Champhai-Aizawl road and National Highway-06A towards Aizawl, Vairengte and the borders of Assam and Tripura.
Myanmar-based organisers, including Runthanchhungi alias Nu Sungi and Chintuang, allegedly hired local carriers in Zokhawthar and Champhai to transport the consignments. The drugs were concealed in soap cases, taxis and motorcycles or moved in truck convoys accompanied by escort vehicles.
Payments to the carriers were allegedly made through the same Champhai hawala accounts that received drug proceeds from across the Northeast, linking the supply of chemicals, movement of narcotics and transfer of money to the Champhai-Zokhawthar corridor.
The ED found that the money trail originated far beyond the Myanmar border. Drugs transported through the corridor were sold for cash across Manipur, Assam, Tripura and other parts of India. The proceeds were collected through hawala channels and routed back to Myanmar-based suppliers.
In the Churachandpur sector of Manipur, syndicate operatives such as Nengzatuan Valte alias Tuanpi allegedly collected the cash and handed it to handlers, including Zenngaihniang alias Taniang. The money was subsequently introduced into the banking system through Mini-ATM and Customer Service Point counters.
Taniang allegedly delivered as much as Rs 1 crore a day to M/s Go Alpha Trip, a Mini-ATM and money-transfer counter in Churachandpur operated by H. Gouzalal, along with lists of beneficiary accounts.
The counter reportedly recorded Taniang under the code name 'NUNIANG' and carried out 2,947 transfers totalling Rs 175.03 crore between 2024 and June 2026. The transfers were made to traders, pharmacies and individuals in Zokhawthar, Champhai, Lawngtlai and Aizawl.
Part of the money was routed through other counters in Churachandpur and front entities to obscure its origin, the ED said.
The beneficiary pharmacies, general stores and individuals in Mizoram allegedly rented out their bank accounts for Rs 500 per lakh. The funds were transferred within days through RTGS, NEFT and IMPS, with negligible cash withdrawals and no corresponding underlying trade.
Of Rs 11.98 crore received in seven accounts analysed by the agency, only Rs 17 lakh was withdrawn in cash. One account belonging to a homemaker in Champhai, operated by her husband, who is a bank employee, received Rs 15.48 crore despite the family having a monthly income of approximately Rs 27,000.
The layered funds eventually reached unlicensed Rupee-Kyat exchangers in Champhai, principally Lalrampari and her husband Lalliansanga, proprietor of M/s JTS Store. Their accounts recorded credits of approximately Rs 268.80 crore, including Rs 125 crore in cash deposits originating from Assam, Nagaland, West Bengal, Tripura and Delhi.
The investigation also found that the funds reaching hawala accounts in Aizawl and Champhai did not originate solely from the Northeast. The accounts received substantial amounts from New Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai, indicating that proceeds from drug sales in metropolitan centres were also being routed back to the international border through layered corporate and hawala channels.
Hawala operator Lalrinkima allegedly received approximately Rs 2.14 crore from shell entities based in Kolkata, while Taniang received Rs 10 lakh from a shell company based in Howrah. Cash was also deposited in Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati and Silchar into accounts belonging to Champhai-based operators.
Acting on instructions from Myanmar-based persons, the operators allegedly transferred funds to accounts across India and settled suppliers' dues in Myanmar currency, Kyat, across the border. They reportedly charged commissions ranging from Rs 250 to Rs 500 per lakh.
The proceeds were allegedly invested in real estate and businesses, including Hotel JTS, a five-storey commercial building in Zion Veng, Champhai, constructed using funds routed through hawala accounts.
During the searches, the ED covered premises linked to hawala operators, mule-account holders, front businesses and the Mini-ATM counter in Champhai, Aizawl, Lawngtlai and Churachandpur, besides bank branches holding key accounts.
Investigators seized incriminating ledgers recording cash receipts and transfers, cheque books, debit cards, mobile phones and other digital devices allegedly used to operate the accounts. Some account holders admitted that they had rented out their bank accounts to suspected narco-hawala operators for Rs 500 per lakh, the agency said.
The ledgers seized from Go Alpha Trip in Churachandpur matched credits in the Mizoram accounts under investigation in two Aizawl cases. These included Rs 2.22 crore credited to accounts linked to Thangkhuala and his wife, Rs 2.67 crore to Zuali Drugs Store, Rs 2.05 crore to Fung Than Kimi, Rs 1.82 crore to Lalbiakhluna Lalduhawma, and transactions involving Lalrampari.
The findings, according to the ED, established a link between drug cash collected in Manipur and the same Champhai hawala accounts allegedly used to settle payments for heroin and methamphetamine networks operating in Mizoram.
Six persons were arrested under Section 19 of the PMLA during the searches. They include Kashyap G. Thakkar, Thangkhuala and T. Chatuan Vanlalgakha from Mizoram, and Zenngaihniang alias Taniang, Nengzatuan Valte alias Tuanpi and H. Gouzalal from Churachandpur in Manipur.
Taniang and Tuanpi, who were already in judicial custody in NDPS cases, were formally arrested with the permission of the Special Judge for NDPS cases in Churachandpur.
The ED said applications seeking the arrest of four additional accused, who are presently in judicial custody in narcotics cases, are being processed before the Special Court in Mizoram. The arrested persons are being produced before the jurisdictional Special Courts under the PMLA.