Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday that an international narcotics cartel has been busted, with security forces arresting 18 people from Assam, Mizoram and Manipur.
He congratulated the team that comprised members from central agencies and police personnel of the three states.
Providing details regarding the action which he named ‘Operation Trident’ on microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said the network used to traffic narcotics across the borders of India, Myanmar and Bangladesh through the ‘Death Triangle Corridor’.
He said the operation attests the Centre’s resolve to make India drug free by December 31, 2029, as he asserted that the country will “hammer until the last nail is driven into the coffin” narcotics cartels.
“Our agencies launched a barrage of simultaneous crackdowns across 38 locations in Assam, Mizoram and Manipur on 23 October, smashing an international narco-cartel,” the union minister said. “The operation revealed ₹100 crore worth of hawala transactions, froze 1,424 bank accounts, attached properties worth ₹17.82 crore, seized 500 detonators and ₹12 lakh in cash, and led to the arrest of 18 people.”
India’s war against drugs
Shah had earlier described drugs as one of India’s biggest challenges and said it could ruin the country’s growth if it remains unchecked. He had announced that the Centre would make the country drug free by the December 2029.
In his in New Delhi on October 21, he had called on police forces across the country to commit themselves in helping India make drug free and eradicate this threat once and for all.
He had said the police forces, along with the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), have played a critical role in India’s development, including dealing with the Naxalites and the country’s war against narcotics.
“Yet, these immortal heroes remained steadfast in their resolve that not even an inch of the country’s land should fall into foreign hands, making the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty. Since then, October 21 has been observed every year as Police Commemoration Day,” Shah had said. “No one can even imagine where we would stand today if these personnel had not made the supreme sacrifice to safeguard the country’s internal security and protect its borders.”