ED busts hawala network linked to drug trade along Myanmar border; 6 arrested

Coordinated searches in Mizoram and Manipur have uncovered an alleged hawala network linked to drug trafficking along the India-Myanmar border, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Sunday, according to news agency PTI.Six people were arrested, more than 1,400 bank accounts were frozen and assets worth about Rs 26 crore were attached. The searches began on Friday and covered several premises across the two states.The raids were conducted as part of three money-laundering cases linked to the trafficking of heroin, brown sugar and methamphetamine tablets from Myanmar, the central probe agency said.The action covered premises linked to hawala operators, holders of mule accounts, front businesses and a mini-ATM counter in Champhai, Aizawl and Lawngtlai in Mizoram, and Churachandpur in Manipur. Bank branches holding key accounts were also searched. The operation was carried out in coordination with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Mizoram Police.During the operation, 1,424 bank accounts linked to the drug trade and hawala operators in Mizoram and Manipur were frozen, PTI reported, citing the ED. Assets worth Rs 26.01 crore were provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Six accused – three in each state--were arrested, the agency said.The ED described the 1,643-km India-Myanmar border as a "porous" route that works as a "two-way street" for drug trafficking through the Champhai-Zokhawthar sector of Mizoram.Chemicals used in drug production and processing are allegedly sent from India to Myanmar, while heroin, brown sugar and methamphetamine tablets produced in Myanmar are brought into India.According to the agency, the drugs are carried across the Tiau river at Zokhawthar, opposite Khawmawi in Myanmar, and taken to Champhai.From there, they are transported along the Champhai-Aizawl road and NH-06A to Aizawl and Vairengte, and towards the Assam and Tripura borders.Heroin and methamphetamine tablets entering Mizoram and Manipur are consumed locally and also transported through Assam to other parts of India and Bangladesh.The money generated from the drug trade is then allegedly sent back to Mizoram's border towns for payment to suppliers based in Myanmar, the ED said.The ED claimed that holders of mule bank accounts "admitted" during the investigation that they had rented their accounts to suspected drug-linked hawala operators for Rs 500 per lakh.- Ends(With PTI inputs)