A key Myanmar-based drug trafficker accused of running a major cross-border methamphetamine and heroin supply network was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Delhi as part of a wider crackdown on transnational narcotics syndicates operating along the India-Myanmar border.
The accused, identified as Thancintuang alias Chintuang alias Tluanga, was arrested on Saturday following extensive surveillance, intelligence gathering and coordinated interstate operations, the NCB said in a statement on Sunday.
According to investigators, Chintuang had emerged as one of the most significant drug traffickers operating along the Myanmar-Mizoram-Manipur-Assam-Tripura corridor and was a major supplier of methamphetamine and heroin entering India from Myanmar.
NCB officials said investigations revealed Chintuang’s involvement in organising extensive cross-border trafficking networks routing narcotic consignments through Mizoram, Manipur, Assam and Tripura into various parts of India and Bangladesh.
He was wanted in multiple cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act by the NCB, Mizoram Police and other enforcement agencies.
The accused was linked to two NDPS cases registered by Mizoram Police in 2025 involving suspected trafficking of methamphetamine and heroin. He was also named in six NDPS cases registered by the Mizoram Excise and Narcotics Department in 2023.
Investigators estimate the network handled illicit drug trafficking worth nearly Rs 115 crore.
NCB said Chintuang was the prime accused in a 2024 Agartala zone case involving the seizure of 14 kg of methamphetamine and 2.8 kg of heroin.
He was also linked to another 2025 Agartala zone case involving the seizure of 49.1 kg of methamphetamine tablets.
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The agency said the syndicate used multiple trafficking routes, transport coordinators, local facilitators and hawala operators to smuggle narcotics across international and interstate borders.
During follow-up investigations, several members of the network and close associates of Chintuang were identified and arrested.
Among them was Vungkhanthawna, described as a key facilitator responsible for coordinating movement and delivery of narcotic consignments linked to the Myanmar-based syndicate.
Another accused, Lalrampari, allegedly acted as a major hawala operator handling proceeds generated through drug trafficking activities. She was arrested by the NCB in August 2024.
Financial investigations later uncovered hawala transactions amounting to nearly Rs 100 crore linked to the syndicate. The matter was subsequently shared with the Enforcement Directorate (ED), while several suspected properties and bank accounts connected to the accused were frozen.
Further investigations also led to the arrest of Abu Saleh alias Saifuddin from Assam’s Cachar district and Jabrul from Karimganj, both alleged to be major logistics and transport coordinators in the network.
The NCB said it has intensified “top-to-bottom” and “bottom-to-top” investigations since 2025 to dismantle entire trafficking syndicates rather than merely intercepting drug consignments.
In the Northeast alone, the agency registered 48 NDPS cases in 2025, arrested 116 traffickers and seized narcotics worth approximately Rs 665 crore in the illicit market.
So far in 2026, the NCB has registered 31 NDPS cases and arrested 54 traffickers during anti-drug operations across the region.
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