GUWAHATI: The Enforcement (ED) Directorate on Saturday claimed to have busted a sophisticated cross-border narcotics syndicate, exposing a trail that links chemical suppliers in Gujarat to the industrial production of methamphetamine, one of the world’s most dangerous stimulants commonly known as meth and yaba, in Myanmar.“Precursors and pre-precursors used in the production of methamphetamine are trafficked from Gujarat into Myanmar through a porous border, where they are processed in clandestine labs,” the ED said.
The finished drugs, methamphetamine, worth hundreds of crores of rupees are then smuggled back into India, primarily through Mizoram, where the porous frontier has emerged as a major gateway in the narcotics trade.The syndicate was busted after ED sleuths from its Aizawl sub-zonal office conducted search operations under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at various locations across Aizawl and Champhai in Mizoram, Sribhumi (Karimganj) in Assam, and Ahmedabad in Gujarat.The directorate initiated its investigation following an FIR registered by the Mizoram Police under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, after 4.724 kg of heroin valued at Rs 1.41 crore was seized from six individuals, leading to the arrest of nine persons.The ED uncovered sophisticated linkages between Mizoram-based firms and suppliers in Gujarat.A source said that large clandestine labs in Myanmar’s Shan state and the infamous Golden Triangle (mountainous region in SE Asia where Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet) churn out methamphetamine in both tablet, powder and crystal form, fuelling a trans-national narcotics trade.“Traffickers conceal consignments in hidden compartments of vehicles, transport them through couriers, or disguise them as legitimate goods to evade detection,” the source said.Investigators found that a Gujarat-based company had supplied pseudoephedrine tablets and caffeine anhydrous worth Rs 4.54 crore in 2024–25 to firms in Mizoram, connected to three individuals, who allegedly conducted smuggling and hawala transactions, ED stated.While pseudoephedrine, commonly found in decongestant medicines, is used as chemical precursor for methamphetamine production in the clandestine labs, caffeine anhydrous is used as an adulterant or pre-precursor that boosts stimulant effects and toxicity in meth tablets.ED stated that evidence suggests Indian intermediaries “procured pseudoephedrine tablets and caffeine anhydrous on behalf of Myanmar nationals, enabling the cross-border drug production and trafficking network and laundered money in this process. This scheme supports the supply chain of narcotics manufacturing, particularly affecting the porous Indo-Myanmar border regions like Mizoram, with financial and smuggling links spanning multiple Indian states and money laundering through these activities,” ED stated.Further investigations by ED revealed that four Mizoram-based firms had established financial ties with Kolkata-based shell entities.Crucially, the ED probe exposed the misuse of GST credentials belonging to Indian nationals by Myanmar operatives, enabling the purchase of raw materials under false identities.ED added that 21 bank accounts suspected to be used for parking of proceeds of crime by the accused entities have been frozen.
