Simultaneous raids across Assam, Mizoram and Manipur have led to the arrest of 18 people and the freezing of 1,424 bank accounts, exposing hawala transactions worth Rs 100 crore and rupturing the finances of a narcotics cartel led by a Myanmar-based drug lord arrested earlier this year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday.

In a post on X, Shah said Operation Trident was carried out on October 23 to dismantle an international narcotics cartel operating across India, Myanmar and Bangladesh. “The operation unearthed hawala transactions worth Rs 100 crore, led to the attachment of properties worth Rs 17.82 crore and resulted in the seizure of 500 detonators and Rs 12 lakh in cash,” he said.

Shah said the network trafficked narcotics across the borders of India, Myanmar and Bangladesh through the “Death Triangle Corridor”.…