ED steps up action against narco-hawala network in Mizoram and Manipur, freezes 1,424 accounts

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Highlights

The ED froze 1,424 bank accounts and secured assets worth more than Rs 26 crore as part of its investigation into narco-hawala cases in Mizoram and Manipur.
From 2024 to June 2026, 2,947 transfers worth Rs 175.03 crore were sent to Zokhawthar, Champhai, Lawngtlai and Aizawl through mini-ATMs and CSPs in Churachandpur.
The investigation found that the funds received were transferred onward through NEFT, RTGS and IMPS and routed to drug suppliers in Myanmar through layered hawala transactions.

This article was translated from the original. Read the original version by our correspondent here.

Scope of searches, arrests and asset seizures

According to the Enforcement Directorate, the Aizawl and Imphal Sub-Zonal Offices of the Enforcement Directorate searched several premises in Aizawl, Champhai, Lawngtlai and Churachandpur on October 23, 2026, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The action was part of three money laundering investigations into the smuggling of heroin, brown sugar and methamphetamine tablets from Myanmar and related hawala settlements. The Narcotics Control Bureau and Mizoram Police also conducted parallel operations.

During the operation, the ED froze 1,424 bank accounts allegedly linked to narco-trade and narco-hawala operators. The agency provisionally attached assets worth Rs 17.82 crore belonging to operators based in Mizoram. Together with Rs 8.19 crore frozen earlier, the total value of assets secured exceeds Rs 26 crore.

During the searches, six accused were arrested under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, including three people from Mizoram and three from Manipur. Applications seeking production warrants for four other accused, who are already in judicial custody in narcotics cases, are being processed by a special court in Mizoram.

The ED investigation began with three cases based on FIRs registered under the NDPS Act. These included cases from 2025 and 2026 involving seizures of heroin, methamphetamine tablets, brown sugar and suspected drug money in the Champhai, Seling and Churachandpur sectors.

Impact of the narco-hawala network in the Northeast corridor

The investigation has uncovered an interconnected narco-hawala network that uses bank accounts in Champhai, Aizawl and Lawngtlai to collect drug proceeds generated in Manipur, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura and settle payments with suppliers based in Myanmar. The ED says the 1,643-kilometre porous border with Myanmar has made the Northeast a major land corridor for narcotics produced in the Golden Triangle.

According to the investigation, the Champhai-Zokhawthar sector operates as a two-way route. Chemicals such as caffeine anhydrous and aluminium chloride anhydrous are sent across the border from India, while heroin, brown sugar and methamphetamine tablets produced in Myanmar cross the Tiau River into Mizoram and Manipur before moving onward to Assam, Tripura, other parts of India and Bangladesh.

The ED said that syndicate operatives collecting cash in Churachandpur and mini-ATM or Customer Service Point counters have been key links in the network. According to the agency, one counter facilitated a total of Rs 175.03 crore across 2,947 transfers between 2024 and June 2026, with recipients including traders, pharmacies and individuals in Zokhawthar, Champhai, Lawngtlai and Aizawl.

The investigation also found that funds credited to beneficiary accounts were transferred onward through RTGS, NEFT and IMPS, with very little cash withdrawn. According to the ED, just Rs 17 lakh was withdrawn in cash out of the Rs 11.98 crore received in seven accounts under analysis, while Rs 15.48 crore was credited to the account of a housewife in Champhai, which was operated by her husband, a bank employee.

According to the agency, after passing through layered transactions, the money reaches unlicensed rupee-kyat exchangers in Champhai, who then pay suppliers based in Myanmar. The investigation has also found indications of funds flowing into related accounts from Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai, strengthening suspicions that proceeds from narcotics sold in metropolitan cities were also routed back to the border region through hawala and shell entities.

During the searches, investigators seized ledgers recording cash receipts and transfers, cheque books, debit cards, mobile phones and digital devices. The ED said the investigation is now expanding to cover other customers of the mini-ATM and CSP cluster in Churachandpur, operators of beneficiary accounts, recipients based in Myanmar, end users of the chemicals and the role of bank officials.

Our previous report detailed the provisional attachment of movable and immovable assets worth Rs 136.42 crore by the ED in an alleged real estate money laundering case linked to OSBPL (Ocean Seven Buildtech). It said the investigation had advanced based on allegations that funds raised from buyers were misused and projects were not developed, and that the transfer of assets following the FIR was also covered by the attachment order.

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