New Delhi: Intensified operations by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) have forced Myanmar-based drug cartels to alter their smuggling methods, with traffickers increasingly using dense forests, river routes and difficult terrain along the India-Myanmar border to evade law enforcement agencies.

According to officials, the Guwahati and Imphal zonal units of the NCB have carried out several major narcotics seizures during 2025 and 2026, disrupting traditional trafficking routes used to smuggle heroin and methamphetamine into India.

Drug syndicates adopting new tactics to evade surveillance

Officials said that as security agencies tightened surveillance along conventional routes, traffickers began shifting to remote forested areas and riverine stretches where detection is more difficult.

The cartels reportedly move drug consignments mainly during the night and often exploit heavy rainfall and adverse weather conditions, when security patrols and surveillance operations become more challenging.

Authorities said the difficult terrain along the India-Myanmar border continues to pose significant operational challenges for enforcement agencies.

Multi-layered supply chain complicates investigations

Officials said the drug trafficking network operates through a complex chain involving cross-border couriers, transport coordinators, local facilitators and receivers before narcotics reach illegal markets.

Investigators also pointed to an extensive financial network that helps move money back to Myanmar-based cartels through illicit channels, making the investigation more complicated.

According to officials, the trafficking model used along the India-Myanmar border is significantly more complex than narcotics smuggling across the India-Pakistan border in Punjab, where smugglers increasingly rely on drones to transport contraband.

Arrest of key Myanmar supplier expected to boost investigation

The recent arrest of Nengzatuan alias Tuanpi, a resident of Chin State in Myanmar, is being seen as a major breakthrough in the NCB’s anti-narcotics operations.

Wanted in multiple drug trafficking cases, Tuanpi was arrested in Manipur and is believed to be one of the key international suppliers operating from Myanmar.

Officials said his interrogation is expected to provide crucial information about the logistics network, smuggling routes and supply chains used by Myanmar-based drug syndicates.

Investigators also believe the information gathered could help dismantle cross-border trafficking networks and uncover links between narcotics entering India and their onward movement to international markets.

The NCB has intensified surveillance and intelligence-based operations along the India-Myanmar border as part of broader efforts to curb cross-border narcotics trafficking and dismantle organised drug networks.