Myanmar nationals ‘misused’ GST credentials of Indians for cross-border drugs trafficking: ED

NEW DELHI: Investigation into a cross-border narcotics trafficking racket has found that Myanmarese nationals “misused” GST credentials of Indians to facilitate purchase of raw material required for manufacturing drugs, the ED said.

The federal probe agency had conducted its first-ever searches along the India-Myanmar border on November 27 following registration of a money laundering case into a drugs trafficking case of Mizoram.

Locations across Aizawl and Champhai (along India-Myanmar border) in Mizoram, Sribhumi (Karimganj) in Assamin Gujarat were raided under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

India shares a 1,643-km-long front with Myanmar on its eastern side.

Evidence gathered during the searches indicated that Indians procured Pseudoephedrine tablets and Caffeine Anhydrous on behalf of Myanmar nationals, enabling trans-border drug production and trafficking apart from money laundering, the Enforcement Directorate said in a statement issued on Friday.Additionally, evidence indicates that Indians 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,” it said.

This scheme supported 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, according to the agency.