Security forces seized heroin valued at ₹4.65 crore during a joint operation by the Assam Rifles and Assam Police near Jhujang Pahar in Cachar district, Assam, on Tuesday night, as the D-Syndicate’s expanding narcotics network through the Northeast draws concern from intelligence agencies.
Acting on precise intelligence inputs, the forces recovered 50 soap cases filled with heroin hidden in a remote forested area. This marks the second major narcotics haul in Cachar within 48 hours. On November 9, security personnel had intercepted a Silchar resident carrying 20,000 methamphetamine (‘Yaba’) tablets worth nearly ₹6 crore along the Silchar bypass. His mobile phone was seized for forensic examination.
A defence spokesperson said the coordinated operations underscored the resolve to dismantle drug trafficking networks exploiting Assam as a key transit corridor. “Assam Rifles continues to play a crucial role in curbing the illicit trade through intelligence-led actions across the Northeast,” the official said.
Officials said the region’s proximity to Myanmar, with its 1,643-km unfenced border touching Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, makes it an ideal entry point for narcotics smuggling into India. Over the years, parts of Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura, and southern Assam have become critical corridors for syndicates ferrying heroin and methamphetamine to mainland India.
D-Syndicate’s renewed focus
Intelligence agencies have raised alarm over Dawood Ibrahim’s D-Syndicate seeking to rebuild its narcotics network through India’s northeastern region after intensified crackdowns in Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Sources said recent arrests of top operatives, Danish Chikna and Mohammed Salim Sheikh, by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) have disrupted the syndicate’s operations in western India. However, the network is believed to be shifting its focus to less-monitored corridors in the Northeast.
Also read: D-Syndicate shifting drug routes to South, Northeast: Agencies
According to intelligence reports, the new operational strategy is being directed by Haji Salim, a close aide of Dawood Ibrahim and alleged associate of Pakistan’s ISI. “Salim is believed to have assumed a more prominent role following the reduced involvement of Dawood’s long-time lieutenant, Chhota Shakeel,” said a senior intelligence official. “While Dawood’s brother Anees Ibrahim oversees international operations, Salim is tasked with reviving domestic trade networks using border vulnerabilities.”
Officials fear the syndicate views the Northeast as a vital transit point, given its porous borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh.
‘New Golden Triangle’ warning
Suhas Chakma, Director of the Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG), a Delhi-based human rights watchdog, warned that India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar are fast becoming the “New Golden Triangle” for narcotics trafficking.
Chakma said drug-related cases have surged in Mizoram, with at least six registered under the NDPS Act in the Lunglei District and Sessions Court since early 2024. “Mizoram has effectively become an entry point for narcotics smuggled from Myanmar,” he said. The state’s Excise and Narcotics Department registered 87 cases and 112 arrests in Champhai district alone between January and September 2025.
He added that Mizoram and Tripura are now “flooded with drugs,” stressing the urgency for coordinated enforcement efforts.
Security and intelligence agencies are expected to step up joint operations across India’s southern and northeastern corridors to disrupt D-Syndicate’s expanding narcotics routes. With back-to-back drug hauls in Assam and rising seizures across the region, enforcement authorities warn that the battle against transnational drug trafficking has only just begun.
Meanwhile, in another operation, the Assam Rifles and Mizoram Police recovered 15 kg of methamphetamine tablets worth ₹45 crore near Ngopa village in Saitual district, close to the Manipur border, on Wednesday night. Two persons from Barpeta, Assam, were arrested. The contraband and vehicle were handed over to Saitual police for investigation.
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