Accepting reality
Five years after Myanmar's military seized power and plunged the country into a prolonged civil conflict, a new reality is emerging across Asia.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested a Myanmar-based drug trafficker from Delhi, cracking open a cross-border syndicate that moved methamphetamine and heroin worth an estimated Rs 115 crore across five northeastern states and into Bangladesh.
The accused
The arrested man, Thancintuang, also known as Chintuang and Tluanga, was based in Myanmar. He allegedly operated as a primary supplier of methamphetamine tablets and heroin smuggled into India through the northeastern states. The NCB arrested him from Delhi following extensive surveillance, intelligence-gathering, and interstate coordination.
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The trafficking route
The NCB identified Chintuang as one of the most active traffickers on the Myanmar-Mizoram-Manipur-Assam-Tripura corridor.
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His network organised narcotics consignments routed through Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, and Tripura before reaching different parts of India and Bangladesh.
Scale of cases against him
Chintuang was wanted in multiple cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. These included two NCB-registered cases, two cases filed by Champhai Police in Mizoram in 2025 for methamphetamine and heroin trafficking, six cases registered by Mizoram Excise and Narcotics Department in 2023 for heroin trafficking.
He was linked to seven NDPS cases along the Myanmar-Mizoram-Tripura-Assam corridor and suspected in five more connected to the Myanmar-Manipur-Assam route.
The total illicit network value linked to him stood at around Rs 115 crore.
Key seizures
Chintuang was the prime accused in a 2024 Agartala Zone case that resulted in the seizure of 14 kg of methamphetamine tablets and 2.8 kg of heroin.
His arrest marked the seventh in that case. He was also the prime accused in a separate 2025 Agartala Zone case involving the seizure of 49.1 kg of methamphetamine tablets, in which nine traffickers had already been arrested before him.
Associates arrested
Several alleged members of the syndicate were arrested during the broader investigation. Vungkhanthawna, a close associate, was identified as key facilitator who coordinated movement and delivery of narcotic consignments for Myanmar-based network. He was also linked to NDPS case registered by Mizoram Police.
Proceedings under Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PITNDPS) Act were initiated against him.
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Lalrampari was arrested on August 8, 2024, as an alleged hawala operator. He reportedly handled the proceeds of the syndicate’s drug sales. Investigators traced hawala transactions worth nearly Rs 100 crore linked to the network. The matter was referred to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and properties suspected to have been acquired through drug money were frozen.
Abu Saleh, also known as Saifuddin, was arrested from Assam’s Cachar district on November 20, 2025. He was identified as a major Indian operative and logistics coordinator for Chintuang’s network, allegedly involved in transporting and distributing narcotics across the Assam corridor.
Jabrul, from Assam’s Karimganj district, was arrested on December 3, 2025, along with an additional consignment of drugs. The NCB said he played a key role in interstate trafficking through the Tripura-Assam route.
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