India's Narcotics Control Bureau launches Operation Trident with 38 simultaneous raids across Assam, Mizoram and Manipur against transnational drug cartel

Key facts

• The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) spearheaded Operation Trident in the early hours of 23 October 2026, with 38 multi-agency teams striking 38 locations simultaneously across Assam, Mizoram and Manipur.
• The operation was conducted by NCB in coordination with Mizoram Police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking cartel.
• The operation revealed ₹100 crore in hawala transactions, froze 1,424 bank accounts, attached properties worth ₹17.82 crore, seized 500 detonators and ₹12 lakh cash, and led to 18 arrests.
• The syndicate, led by Myanmar-based kingpin Thangcintuang @ Chintuang @ Tluanga, trafficked methamphetamine and heroin across the India-Myanmar-Bangladesh borders through the Death Triangle Corridor.
• Strikes covered Aizawl, Champhai and the Indo-Myanmar border town of Zokhawthar in Mizoram, Churachandpur in Manipur, and the Cachar transit corridor in Assam.
• The operation aligns with the Vision Document on Narcotics Control (2026-2029), marking a shift from a seizure-centric to a network-centric and financial disruption approach, targeting eradication of every drug network by 31 December 2029.
• Key cartel members neutralised earlier include facilitator Vungkhanthawna (detained under PITNDPS Act), hawala operator Lalrampari (arrested 08.08.2024), and Assam corridor logistics head Abu Saleh @ Saifuddin (arrested from Cachar on 20.11.2025).