Imphal: The Enforcement Directorate discovered a racket swapping essential goods for narcotics along the Myanmar border. Traders and money-transfer counters in Manipur and Mizoram allegedly used food and fuel to settle debts with drug suppliers, dodging standard banking systems. Churachandpur district serves as a hub for the operation. Investigators tracked large shipments of flour and oil heading toward border areas to cover these illicit costs.
A specific transaction on December 14, 2024, saw Rs 13.19 lakh sent to a Jalpaiguri flour mill. Four days later, Go Alpha Trip, a mini-ATM firm in Churachandpur, received an invoice for 32,535 kg of flour. That shipment ended up in Aizawl. Similarly, in April 2026, two Rs 5 lakh payments went to a Guwahati oil trader. This bought 631 cases of refined soybean oil for a shop in Champhai, Mizoram. The ED also flagged suspicious bulk fuel purchases where the payer and the receiver did not match.
Authorities believe these commodities sold in Myanmar help pay off drug debts, masking the money trail. The report states that approximately "Rs 175 crore suspected to have been generated from drug sales was routed through accounts in Manipur and Mizoram before being transferred through money exchangers operating in border areas."
Operation Trident, a joint effort by the ED, Narcotics Control Bureau, and Mizoram Police, cracked down on the network. The team seized 18 suspects, froze 1,400 bank accounts, and attached assets worth Rs 17.82 crore. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities have yet to confirm the guilt of the businesses involved.
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