Operation Trident: 1,424 Accounts Frozen in Northeast Drug Money Probe
Image: The Tribune / iStock
Bank accounts in Champhai, Aizawl and Lawngtlai in Mizoram that allegedly collected drug money from four northeastern states and paid suppliers in Myanmar are among 1,424 accounts frozen after searches at 38 places in Assam, Mizoram and Manipur on 23 October. Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced the result of “Operation Trident” on X on Sunday, 25 October; 18 people have been arrested, about Rs 100 crore in hawala transactions traced, and property worth Rs 17.82 crore attached, according to official figures reported by The Tribune and IANS.
Three Seizure Cases Behind the Money Trail
The Enforcement Directorate’s action rests on three money-laundering cases built on earlier NDPS Act seizures, The Tribune reported: 4.722 kg of heroin seized by Zokhawthar police in Champhai in March 2025, 49.101 kg of methamphetamine tablets seized by the Narcotics Control Bureau near Seling on NH-06A in August 2025, and 2.413 kg of brown sugar with Rs 31.43 lakh in cash seized by Churachandpur police in Manipur in July 2026. The NCB and Mizoram Police ran parallel operations the same day. Searches also turned up 500 detonators and Rs 12 lakh in cash. Officials have not named the 18 people arrested.
Arrests Are Many, PMLA Convictions Few
Shah called the operation “another lethal blow against drugs” and said agencies would keep going until “the last nail is driven into the coffin of drug cartels”. On 21 October he set police forces a target of a drug-free India by the end of 2029. The record on money-laundering trials is thinner than the arrest figures: the finance ministry told the Lok Sabha in December 2025 that the ED had registered 6,312 PMLA cases in about 11 years and seven months and secured convictions in 120. In a Rajya Sabha reply reported in August 2026, it gave 4,622 cases and 43 convictions for FY22 to FY26.
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Frozen Accounts Await Court Scrutiny
The attachments must be confirmed by the PMLA adjudicating authority within 180 days to stand. The statements so far do not say how many of the frozen accounts belong to the accused and how many to mule holders, or which court the 18 arrested will be produced before. Shah’s earlier comments on Punjab’s drug problem are covered in this report; more on Daily Updates.
Source: Amit Shah on X. Also based on reporting by The Tribune, The Hans India / IANS, ETV Bharat, Deccan Herald and Business Today.
Image: The Tribune / iStock (representative).
