Agartala/Aizawl, June 9 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at multiple locations in West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram in connection with an ongoing money laundering investigation arising out of a major cross-border drug-trafficking case involving proceeds of crime in excess of Rs 142 crore, the central probe agency said on Tuesday.

The ED, Aizawl Sub-Zonal Office, conducted search operations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, on Monday at four locations in Tripura, West Bengal and Mizoram. The investigation stems from a predicate offence registered by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Agartala Zonal Unit, under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

According to the ED statement, the NCB case pertains to the interception of a vehicle convoy along National Highway-6A (NH-06A) in Mizoram on August 21, 2025, which led to the seizure of 49.101 kg of methamphetamine tablets and 40 grams of heroin, and the arrest of eight persons. The offences under Sections 21, 22 and 29 of the NDPS Act are scheduled offences under the PMLA, 2002.

Investigation conducted by ED has revealed an organised interstate and cross-border syndicate that sourced methamphetamine from Myanmar-based suppliers, smuggled the contraband into India through the Zokhawthar sector of Mizoram’s Champhai district, and routed it towards receivers based in Tripura.

The proceeds of crime were layered and integrated through a web of bank accounts held by Myanmar-resident individuals using border addresses and shell entities, as well as cash and hawala channels, to obscure the origin and ultimate beneficiaries of the funds. Suspect credits aggregating to over Rs 142 crore have been identified so far.

The main Myanmar-based supplier of the contraband, Chintuang alias Tluanga, and chief transportation facilitator Jabrul Haque have already been arrested by the NCB.

The searches conducted on Monday (June 8) covered the residential and official premises of four key persons and entities linked to the syndicate. The key persons include Anowar Hossain alias Suman Mia alias Crorepati Suman and Jashim Mia (both residents of Sonamura in Tripura’s Sepahijala district), who have been identified as the ultimate receivers of the seized consignment.

The other individuals are Hmingthansangi, a resident of Zokhawthar in Mizoram, whose bank account showed suspect credits of over Rs 33 crore, and Chaitali Das, Proprietor of M/s Riju Enterprises in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, suspected to have been used to route the proceeds of crime.

The ED said that during the searches, more than 25 CCTV cameras, all mounted on trees, covering the forest areas surrounding the houses of Suman Mia and Jashim Mia, along the barbed-wire fencing of the international border with Bangladesh, were found. A dog squad was also employed to detect contraband during the search.

While the residences of Suman Mia and Jashim Mia were right on the Indo-Bangladesh border, the location in Zokhawthar was less than 500 metres from the unfenced Myanmar border.

Support from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Border Security Force (BSF) was sought during the search operations. During the search, incriminating documents, digital devices and other material evidence relevant to the investigation were found and seized, the probe agency stated.

Further investigation into the matter is underway.

–IANS

sc/dan