NEW DELHI: In a lethal blow against drugs by the Modi Government, NCB launched ‘Operation Trident’, with 38 teams striking 38 locations simultaneously across Assam, Mizoram, and Manipur.
The massive three-state multi-agency blitzkrieg targeted 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.
In a post on the X platform, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah said, "The Modi government'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 Rs 100 crore worth of hawala transactions, froze 1,424 bank accounts, attached properties worth Rs 17.82 crore, seized 500 detonators and Rs 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,” Shah said.
The 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 the Mizoram Police and 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.
38 multi-agency composite teams were sent out at the same time to 38 pre-identified locations in the three North-Eastern states of Assam, Mizoram, and Manipur. They acted with surgical precision under a unified command structure. The coordinated strikes extensively covered key urban hubs and sensitive border corridors—including Aizawl, Champhai, and the strategic Indo-
Myanmar trading town on the border, Zokhawthar in Mizoram, alongside linked operative bases in Churachandpur, Manipur and the Cachar/Assam transit corridor. Despite the challenging terrain and vast geographical spread, exceptional inter-departmental coordination ensured the simultaneous execution of all searches, enquiries, and financial audits, preventing the flight of suspects or the concealment of illicit assets.
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-led backward and forward linkage investigations initiated by the NCB, Mizoram Police and Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the network cases identified for a 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 interstate 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. (PIB)
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