4 More Arrests In India-Myanmar Drug Racket Probe, 991 Bank Accounts Frozen

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested four more persons in connection with an alleged drug trafficking and hawala network operating between India and Myanmar, with the total number of arrests rising to 10. The agency has also frozen 991 bank accounts suspected to have been used in the network.

The four accused were arrested by the ED's Aizawl Sub-Zonal Office under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). All of them were already lodged in Aizawl Central Jail in connection with cases registered by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

They have been identified as Lalrammuana, Thangcintuang alias Chintuang, Jabrul Haque and Abu Saleh Md Saif Uddin, and have been remanded to 48 hours of ED custody. .

The ED's investigation has brought to light financial transactions worth hundreds of crores of rupees, with suspected links stretching from Myanmar-based drug suppliers to operators in Mizoram and money handlers in Assam and other parts of the country.

One of the accounts under scrutiny allegedly handled transactions worth Rs 11.44 crore. The account was operated by Saif Uddin, and investigators found that Rs 6.67 crore was deposited in cash. The agency suspects the money was subsequently transferred to hawala accounts connected to Champhai in Mizoram.

The probe has also uncovered handwritten records of suspected cross-border money transfers. During a search at a residence in New Lamka, Churachandpur, on October 23, ED officials seized cash books, registers and notebooks containing entries of currency exchanges between India and Myanmar.

According to the agency, the documents contain entries running into more than 43 crore Myanmar Kyat. Investigators also found references to transactions through KPay, a mobile payment platform used in Myanmar, and records of foreign currency exchanges.

Another aspect being examined is how payments for narcotics consignments were allegedly settled through the supply of goods rather than direct cash transfers across the border.

The ED suspects that money generated through drug sales was deposited into Indian bank accounts and used to purchase commodities, including edible oil, medicines, groceries and fuel. These goods were allegedly transported to Myanmar, where their delivery was used to settle payments with drug suppliers.

The agency has identified M/s Go Alpha Trip, a mini-ATM counter allegedly operated by Taniang, as one of the channels through which around Rs 175 crore was routed. Transactions involving suppliers in West Bengal, Mizoram and Delhi are also being examined.

Investigators suspect that some businesses may have been used to create invoices for goods while the actual consignments were transported directly across the border. The ED is examining whether these transactions were used to disguise payments linked to drug trafficking as regular commercial trade.