NCB launched Operation Trident across three states, arresting 18 individuals and freezing 1,424 bank accounts to dismantle a Rs 100 crore transnational drug network, marking a strategic shift toward a network-centric anti-drug approach.
Operation Trident Launched Against Transnational Drug Syndicates
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) launched ‘Operation Trident’ across Assam, Mizoram and Manipur on October 23, deploying 38 multi-agency teams to simultaneously target 38 locations and dismantle a transnational drug trafficking network, uncovering nearly Rs 100 crore in hawala transactions, freezing 1,424 bank accounts and arresting 18 people. As per the official release, the crackdown is in line with Modi Govt’s policy of Zero Tolerance against Drugs and a strategic shift from a seizure-centric to a network-centric approach.
The massive three-state multi-agency blitzkrieg was launched against transnational narco-financial syndicates across Assam, Mizoram and Manipur. In line with the Vision Document on Narcotics Control (2026-2029), Operation exemplifies a shift from a seizure-centric to a network-centric and financial disruption approach to uproot transnational syndicates.
Statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah
In a post on the X platform, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah said, “Modi govt’s lethal blows against drugs continue…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 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. The network trafficked narcotics across the borders of India, Myanmar and Bangladesh through the Death Triangle Corridor. The offensive attests to India’s Himalayan resolve to realise the mission of eradicating every drug network by 31 December 2029. India will hammer until the last nail is driven into the coffin of drug cartels. Heartiest congratulations to the anti-narcotics team comprising central agencies and police forces of the three states.”
Execution and Strategic Planning
Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) spearheaded “Operation Trident” in the early hours of 23 October 2026. In an extraordinary demonstration of multi-agency synergy, the NCB, in seamless coordination with Mizoram Police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), launched a massive, simultaneous crackdown to dismantle the operational and financial backbone of a major transnational drug trafficking cartel.
Meticulous Multi-Agency Planning & Synchronised Execution
Operation Trident represents a benchmark in institutional cohesion in intelligence sharing & operational planning to target drug kingpins & their associates in Mizoram. Preceded by days of covert intelligence fusion, joint target-mapping, and high-level tactical briefings among central and state enforcement agencies, the operation was meticulously designed to simultaneously strike both the logistics nodes and the illicit financial arteries of the syndicates. Acting with surgical precision under a unified command structure, 38 multi-agency composite teams were mobilised concurrently across 38 pre-identified locations spanning the three North-Eastern states of Assam, Mizoram, and Manipur. The coordinated strikes extensively covered key urban hubs and sensitive border corridors, including Aizawl, Champhai, and the strategic Indo-Myanmar border trading town of Zokhawthar in Mizoram, alongside linked operative bases in Churachandpur, Manipur and the Cachar/Assam transit corridor. Despite challenging terrain and vast geographical spread, exceptional inter-departmental coordination ensured that all searches, enquiries, and financial audits were executed simultaneously, preventing the flight of suspects or the concealment of illicit assets.
The multi-state operation stems from sustained, intelligence-ledbackwardsd and forward linkage investigations initiated by the NCB, Mizoram Police and Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the network cases identified for thorough 360-degree probe. Sustained probes unmasked a prolific transnational syndicate led by Myanmar-based kingpin Thangcintuang @ Chintuang @ Tluanga (wanted in over 10 NDPS cases across NCB, Champhai Police, and Mizoram Excise), who orchestrated the cross-border routing of Methamphetamine and Heroin across the Myanmar–Mizoram–Manipur–Assam–Tripura corridor into mainland India and Bangladesh. Prior phases of the investigation successfully neutralised key pillars of this cartel, including: Thangcintuang @ Chintuang @ Tluanga (Kingpin): Arrested from Delhi following intensive inter-state surveillance, intelligence development, and sustained follow-up operations. Vungkhanthawna (Key Facilitator): Close associate coordinating movement and delivery of Myanmar-origin consignments; arrested and subsequently detained under the stringent PITNDPS Act. Lalrampari (Primary Hawala Operator): Arrested by NCB on 08.08.2024; investigations exposed nearly ₹100 Crore in illicit hawala transactions linked to the network, prompting joint action with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and freezing of illegally acquired properties. Abu Saleh @ Saifuddin (Assam Corridor Logistics Head): Arrested from Cachar, Assam on 20.11.2025; a major Indian operative coordinating narcotics transportation across the Assam corridor and linked to multiple NDPS cases. Detailed financial profiling and digital forensics from these breakthroughs revealed a wider web of facilitators, shell entities, and money mules, necessitating the massive, synchronised strike of Operation Trident.
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