Amit Shah hails ‘another lethal blow’ as Operation Trident strikes drug cartels across Assam, Manipur, Mizoram

Operation Trident was a coordinated anti-drug crackdown launched on October 23. It targeted an international trafficking network active across Assam, Mizoram and Manipur. The network used routes linked to India, Myanmar and Bangladesh. The operation matters because the Northeast is a key passage for narcotics entering India from Myanmar.

Security agencies searched 38 locations at the same time. They arrested 18 people and uncovered a hawala trail worth ₹100 crore. Authorities also froze bank accounts, attached properties, seized detonators and recovered cash. These actions aimed to disrupt both the network’s drugs business and its financial support.

The operation forms part of the government’s stated campaign to eliminate drug networks by December 31, 2029. The article also reports that India has begun fencing the India-Myanmar border. This shows that enforcement is combining raids, financial investigations and border controls.

Operation Trident was large in both its physical reach and financial impact. Simultaneous searches took place at 38 locations across Assam, Mizoram and Manipur. The raids resulted in 18 arrests. Their purpose was to break an international drug trafficking network operating along the India-Myanmar-Bangladesh borders.

The financial investigation uncovered hawala transactions worth ₹100 crore. Authorities froze 1,424 bank accounts and attached properties valued at ₹17.82 crore. The operation also seized 500 detonators and ₹12 lakh in cash. Together, these figures show that investigators targeted money, assets and possible operational materials, not only narcotics.

The scale suggests a network with a substantial financial footprint. The article places the action within a wider government campaign to eliminate drug trafficking networks by December 31, 2029. It also links the crackdown to rising concerns about smuggling and narco-terror activities in the Northeast.

Hawala is an informal system for transferring value through brokers or trusted intermediaries. The sender gives money to one broker, and another broker pays the recipient elsewhere. The brokers later settle their obligations between themselves. A transaction may therefore occur without the funds moving directly through a bank.

Drug networks can use hawala to collect proceeds, pay suppliers and move money across borders. They may also use coded records, intermediaries or false identities to make the money harder to trace. Investigators can follow repeated payments, broker relationships and linked accounts to reconstruct the financial network.

During Operation Trident, authorities reported uncovering hawala transactions worth ₹100 crore. They also froze 1,424 bank accounts and attached properties valued at ₹17.82 crore. These steps show why financial investigations matter: disrupting money can weaken trafficking operations even when the drugs or organisers are outside one jurisdiction.

The Golden Triangle is a drug-smuggling region encompassing Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. It is important to India because narcotics produced or moved through this area can enter the Northeast across the India-Myanmar border. The article identifies the region as a major source of methamphetamine entering India.

Amit Shah said there was nothing “golden” about the route and preferred the term “death triangle.” His explanation focused on its human cost. He said drug smuggling affects the lives of young people, India’s culture and the country’s future. The label highlights harm rather than geography or commercial activity.

The NCB’s 2025 annual report identified the Golden Triangle as the main source of methamphetamine entering India through the Northeast. Mizoram accounted for nearly 42% of ATS seizures, followed by Manipur and Delhi. India has also begun fencing the India-Myanmar border amid rising smuggling and narco-terror concerns.

Myanmar has become a major source because conditions there have expanded illicit production and trafficking. The article links rising opium production to economic collapse, civil war and the 2021 military takeover. It says Myanmar’s opium output reached a ten-year high and that the country overtook Afghanistan as the world’s largest illicit opium producer.

The region also supplies methamphetamine entering India through the Northeast. The NCB’s 2025 annual report identified the Golden Triangle, which includes Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, as the main source. Trafficking routes pass through India’s northeastern states, connecting production areas with markets and transport corridors.

This creates a continuing security and public-health challenge for India. Mizoram accounted for nearly 42% of all ATS seizures, followed by Manipur and Delhi. The government has responded with coordinated raids, financial restrictions and fencing work along the India-Myanmar border.

Drug trafficking can harm young people by increasing access to addictive substances and damaging health, families and education. Amit Shah said the so-called Death Triangle affects the lives of India’s youth, its culture and its future. These concerns explain why the government treats trafficking as more than a criminal commerce issue.

The network’s cross-border routes also complicate border security. Narcotics moved through Myanmar can enter India’s Northeast, while profits and support may travel through informal financial channels. Operation Trident exposed a ₹100 crore hawala trail, and the government has begun fencing the India-Myanmar border. These measures target both movement and funding.

The article connects rising smuggling concerns with narco-terror activities. It does not detail specific attacks or organisations, but it presents the risk as part of the wider security challenge. Continued raids, asset seizures, account freezes and border controls are therefore central to the government’s response through 2029.

International drug networks operate by dividing a trade across several places. Production may occur in one country, transport may pass through another, and sales or money collection may happen elsewhere. This structure makes investigations harder because different agencies and borders are involved. The article describes a network spanning India, Myanmar and Bangladesh.

The mechanism usually combines transport corridors, intermediaries and financial channels. Narcotics can move through border routes and local contacts, while hawala brokers transfer or settle money outside direct bank movements. Operation Trident’s reported ₹100 crore hawala trail, frozen accounts and attached properties show how investigators can target the network’s financial infrastructure.

The article identifies the Golden Triangle as a source region for methamphetamine entering India through the Northeast. It also reports routes passing through northeastern states and concerns about narco-terror activities. India’s response includes simultaneous raids, financial enforcement and fencing along the India-Myanmar border.