ED dismantles hawala network tied to Myanmar-border drug trade, arrests six

In a recent operation, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced that it had uncovered a hawala money-lending network used to move proceeds of illicit drug trade across the India-Myanmar frontier. Six suspects were taken into custody in coordinated raids conducted in the border districts of northeastern India, authorities said. The bust highlights the growing nexus between informal money-transfer channels and narcotics trafficking, prompting the ED to intensify scrutiny of cross-border financial flows. A senior ED official stated that the agency will continue to target such networks to disrupt the financial infrastructure of drug syndicates. Investigations remain ongoing to trace the full extent of the network and seize assets linked to the illegal trade.