Aizwal, 26 October (H.S.): The Enforcement

Directorate (ED) has dismantled a drug-linked hawala network operating along

the India-Myanmar border in Mizoram and Manipur, arresting six people, freezing

1,424 bank accounts and provisionally attaching assets worth Rs 26.01 crore,

the agency said on Sunday.

The action

followed coordinated searches launched on Friday at 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.

According to

the ED, the searches covered premises linked to suspected hawala operators,

holders of mule bank accounts, front businesses and a mini-ATM counter. Bank

branches maintaining accounts allegedly connected to the network were also

searched. The operation was conducted in coordination with the Narcotics

Control Bureau (NCB) and the Mizoram Police.

The agency said

six people had been arrested in connection with the cases, including three from

Mizoram and three from Manipur. It also froze 1,424 bank accounts allegedly

associated with the narcotics trade and hawala transactions. Assets valued at

Rs 26.01 crore were provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money

Laundering Act (PMLA).

Explaining the

network’s operations, the ED described the 1,643-km India-Myanmar border as

porous and said it facilitated the movement of narcotics across the

international boundary, particularly through the Champhai-Zokhawthar sector in

Mizoram.

The agency said

precursor substances and chemicals used to dilute narcotics were transported

from India to Myanmar, while finished drugs, including heroin, brown sugar and

methamphetamine tablets, were smuggled into India.

According to

the ED, narcotics are brought across the Tiau river at Zokhawthar, opposite

Khawmawi in Myanmar, and transported to Champhai. From there, consignments move

along the Champhai-Aizawl road and National Highway 6A towards Aizawl and

Vairengte, before reaching areas bordering Assam and Tripura.

The agency said

the drugs entering Mizoram and Manipur were either consumed locally or

transported through Assam to other parts of India and Bangladesh. Proceeds from

the trade were allegedly routed back to border towns in Mizoram to settle

payments with suppliers in Myanmar.

The ED further

claimed that some holders of mule bank accounts had admitted during the

investigation to renting out their accounts to suspected narco-hawala operators

for payments of Rs 500 per lakh.

The

investigation is aimed at tracing the financial channels used to move proceeds

from the cross-border drug trade and identifying those involved in the alleged

laundering network.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhijit Deb