The Enforcement Directorate has arrested four more people under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in connection with Operation Trident, a multi-agency investigation into an alleged cross-border narcotics and hawala network operating between India and Myanmar.
The arrests were formalised on 30 October 2026 by the ED’s Aizawl Sub-Zonal Office. All four individuals were already lodged in Central Jail, Aizawl, in connection with narcotics cases investigated by the Narcotics Control Bureau. The ED obtained production warrants and presented them before the Additional District and Sessions Judge-I, Aizawl. Through orders dated 29 October 2026, the court permitted their formal arrest and granted the ED 48 hours of custody for interrogation.
The four arrested are Lalrammuana of Champhai in Mizoram, Thangcintuang alias Chintuang alias Tluanga of Bulfek village in Myanmar, Jabrul Haque of Sribhumi in Assam, and Abu Saleh Md Saif Uddin of Karimganj in Assam.
According to the ED, Lalrammuana was the main handler of a 49.101 kg methamphetamine consignment seized on 21 August 2025. Thangcintuang is identified as the Myanmar-based supplier of that consignment. Jabrul Haque is described as the intended receiver at the Damchhera-Kanhmun border area. Abu Saleh Md Saif Uddin is linked to the financial side of the investigation. The ED stated that his bank account received ₹11.44 crore, of which ₹6.67 crore came in cash, and that the account allegedly fed hawala accounts in Champhai.
These four arrests bring the total number of people arrested by the ED across the three connected money-laundering cases to ten.
Operation Trident is based on three separate narcotics cases that form the foundation of the ED’s money-laundering investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The first case began with the seizure of 4.722 kg of heroin in 440 soap cases at Zokhawthar in Champhai district of Mizoram on 14 March 2025 by Zokhawthar Police. The heroin was being transported from Zokhawthar towards Aizawl for a Myanmar-based supplier.
The second case involved the seizure of 49.101 kg of methamphetamine tablets and 40 grams of heroin on 21 August 2025 by the Narcotics Control Bureau, Agartala, from a convoy on NH-06A near Seling in Mizoram. The ED has linked Thangcintuang as the Myanmar-based supplier, Lalrammuana as the main handler, Jabrul Haque as the intended receiver at the Damchhera-Kanhmun border, and Abu Saleh Md Saif Uddin as the financial operator whose account fed Champhai hawala accounts.
The third case originated in Manipur with the seizure of 2.413 kg of brown sugar and ₹31.43 lakh in cash in Churachandpur on 2 July 2026 by Churachandpur Police. This case led the ED to the alleged hawala business of Zenngaihniang alias Taniang at New Lamka in Churachandpur.
On 23 October 2026, the ED conducted a search at the residence of Zenngaihniang alias Taniang at New Lamka, Churachandpur. Officers recovered and seized cash books, registers, notebooks, handwritten financial accounts, seven signed ₹10 currency notes, and documents relating to an immovable property purchased for ₹60 lakh in her name.
The ED stated that the records document a regular currency-exchange and hawala operation. Indian rupees were received in cash and through bank accounts from individuals in different parts of India. These amounts were converted into Myanmar kyat at daily exchange rates of approximately 42 to 48 kyat for every Indian rupee. Payments were then made to individuals in Myanmar.
One single daily entry in the seized records stood at ₹54.47 lakh, corresponding to approximately 26 crore Myanmar kyat. The handwritten records also contain running totals exceeding 43 crore kyat. The books further record ₹1.14 crore paid to one handler within a week in April 2025.
The records contain entries involving transfers through Myanmar’s mobile wallet system KPay. They also show conversion of 10,816 US dollars at the rate of 4,150 Myanmar kyat per US dollar during the period from April 2025 to February 2026.
The seven signed ₹10 currency notes recovered during the search are suspected by the ED to have been used as tokens for identifying recipients of hawala payments.
The ED has frozen 991 bank accounts linked to the Churachandpur network.
A significant commercial channel identified in the investigation is M/s Go Alpha Trip, a Mini-ATM and money-transfer counter in Churachandpur operated by H. Gouzalal. According to the ED, Zenngaihniang alias Taniang allegedly delivered amounts of up to ₹1 crore per day to this counter and supplied lists of beneficiary accounts. The counter recorded 2,947 transfers aggregating to ₹175.03 crore between 2024 and June 2026. The money went to traders, pharmacies and individuals in Mizoram. Some amounts were routed through other Churachandpur counters and front entities.
The ED’s 31 October press release specifically highlights what it describes as a goods-for-drugs arrangement. Ledgers of Go Alpha Trip and statements recorded in the connected Mizoram case indicate that the Mini-ATM counter and associated accounts paid suppliers of ordinary commercial goods. These suppliers included a flour mill in West Bengal, an edible oil trader in Assam, filling stations in Mizoram, grocery wholesalers, medicine wholesalers, footwear traders in Delhi and cloth traders in Delhi.
The ED stated that approximately ₹2.61 crore was paid to filling stations in Mizoram. Commercial invoices were raised in the names of third parties in Aizawl and border towns, while the goods ultimately moved into Myanmar. According to the agency, the payment in India acquired the appearance of a GST-invoiced transaction, while the cross-border leg left no money trail. The suppliers across the border were allegedly compensated in the form of goods rather than through conventional cross-border money transfers.
Earlier disclosures related to Operation Trident provide additional context. The coordinated operation on 23 October 2026 involved 38 multi-agency teams conducting simultaneous searches at 38 locations across three states. The Ministry of Home Affairs reported that 18 people were arrested in the broader operation, 1,424 bank accounts were frozen, and properties worth ₹17.82 crore were provisionally attached. Nearly ₹100 crore in hawala transactions were reported. Cash of ₹12 lakh and 500 detonators were also seized.
The Mizoram government statement of 26 October 2026 noted that ED searches were conducted in three money-laundering cases covering Aizawl, Champhai, Lawngtlai and Churachandpur. Six people were arrested by the ED under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act at that stage. The Narcotics Control Bureau separately arrested seven people in Mizoram.
The ED’s investigation has also examined accounts associated with Lalrampari, identified as a primary hawala operator who had been arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau on 8 August 2024, and her husband Lalliansanga, proprietor of M/s JTS Store. Reported findings include approximately ₹268.80 crore in credits recorded in their accounts and approximately ₹125 crore in cash deposits. The cash reportedly originated from Assam, Nagaland, West Bengal, Tripura and Delhi.
The ED has stated that beneficiary pharmacies, general stores and individuals allegedly rented out their accounts. Some account holders allegedly received ₹500 per lakh as payment. Funds were transferred onward within days through RTGS, NEFT and IMPS, with negligible cash withdrawals in some cases. One sample of seven accounts received a combined ₹11.98 crore against which only approximately ₹17 lakh was withdrawn in cash. A Champhai homemaker’s account allegedly received ₹15.48 crore despite the family having a reported monthly income of approximately ₹27,000. The account was operated by her bank-employee husband.
Operation Trident was spearheaded by the Narcotics Control Bureau in coordination with the Enforcement Directorate, Mizoram Police and other agencies. The ED’s Aizawl and Imphal Sub-Zonal Offices handled the money-laundering investigations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The four individuals arrested on 30 October were formally arrested under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The underlying narcotics cases arise under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. The ED’s investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act follows the proceeds generated by the scheduled offences.
The investigation covers locations including Aizawl, Champhai, Zokhawthar, Churachandpur, Lawngtlai and the Damchhera-Kanhmun border area. It examines alleged narcotics supply and border-crossing points, financial collection and hawala operations, and commercial procurement channels extending to other states.
The ED’s press release of 31 October 2026 sets out the latest findings from the financial investigation into the three connected cases. The agency has identified cash-based hawala transactions, bank accounts and suspected mule accounts, Mini-ATM and cash-deposit infrastructure, currency conversion between Indian rupees and Myanmar kyat, Myanmar-based mobile payment systems, purchases of ordinary commercial goods in India, and cross-border transportation of those goods into Myanmar as a means of compensating drug suppliers.
The figures disclosed across the investigation represent different accounts, transactions, seized records and findings. They include the 49.101 kg methamphetamine consignment, the ₹11.44 crore received in Abu Saleh’s account, the more than ₹175 crore pushed through Go Alpha Trip’s Mini-ATM counter, the 991 bank accounts linked to the Churachandpur network, the ₹60 lakh property purchased in Zenngaihniang’s name, the ₹54.47 lakh single daily entry in the hawala records, the running totals over 43 crore Myanmar kyat, the ₹1.14 crore paid to one handler within a week in April 2025, and the conversion of 10,816 US dollars.
The Enforcement Directorate continues its investigation into the alleged network under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act on the basis of the three underlying narcotics cases.
