ED Uncovers Myanmar Drug Syndicate Misusing Indian GST Credentials

ED Uncovers Myanmar Drug Syndicate Misusing Indian GST Credentials

During the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) investigation into a cross-border illegal drug network, officials found that some people from Myanmar were misusing Indian citizens’ GST details to purchase chemicals required to make drugs.

After registering a money-laundering case connected to a drug-trafficking incident in Mizoram, the ED carried out its first-ever investigation along the India-Myanmar border on November 27. Officials carried out raids in several places, such as Aizawl and Champhai in Mizoram (near the India-Myanmar border), Sribhumi in Assam, and Ahmedabad in Gujarat, as part of an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED found that some Myanmar nationals were using Indian citizens and even misusing their GST identities to buy chemicals in India that are used to make methamphetamine, an illegal drug. These chemicals, such as pseudoephedrine tablets and caffeine powder, were purchased in India and then used across the border in Myanmar for drug production.

The investigation found that criminals were using stolen Indian GST login details to secretly make drugs, smuggle them across the India-Myanmar border, and move illegal money around. The long porous India-Myanmar border made it easy for them to do this.