Operation Trident, the multi-agency crackdown on a syndicate operating across the India-Myanmar-Bangladesh corridor, is being projected as an escalation in the Centre’s war on narcotics. Home Minister Amit Shah has set December 31, 2029 as the deadline to wipe out drug networks.
The October 23 raids that led to 18 arrests followed NCB investigations after the arrest of an alleged Myanmar-based kingpin in Delhi in May.
The action is welcome, but dismantling the network will need identification of all suppliers in Myanmar and their prosecution.
The government’s roadmap, the Vision Document on Drug Control 2026-2029 launched by Shah on June 26, 2026, envisages dismantling 100 major cartels and improving conviction rates.
It involves states, over 40 ministries, central agencies and the pharma sector.
Data for 2025 shows a more than 50% rise in arrests and nearly 53 percent rise in NDPS cases over 2024.
Yet implementation and coordination will decide the outcome. In several cases foreign-based operators remain at large and the big sharks escape.
The 2021 seizure of about 3,000 kg heroin at Mundra port in Gujarat, where Afghanistan-based suppliers are yet to be booked, is a reminder. Seizure volume alone does not mean availability has fallen.
This is where Meghalaya fits into the national picture. What was once a transit corridor is now a market. Meghalaya Police Anti-Narcotics Task Force data shows seizures jumping from about 1,400 kg in 2023 to over 5,000 kg in 2024, with heroin dominating but synthetic drugs rising.
In March 2026, over 10 kg of crystal meth was seized, and on October 12, 409 grams of heroin worth Rs 1.5 crore was seized from an ambulance in East Jaintia Hills, which points out that there is demand for narcotics drugs in Meghalaya.
In January 2026, police disposed drugs from 58 NDPS cases including 183 grams heroin, 8.7 kg Yaba and 296 kg ganja.
The human cost is stark. Former Social Welfare Minister and currently the advisor to the department, Paul Lyngdoh recently said Meghalaya has over 2.5 lakh drug users, while an older NEIDAC study had put the number at 17,833.
Meanwhile, a study published in the Indian Journal of Public Health in 2025 found drug initiation in the state as early as 10 years, with mean age 19, and over one-third starting as minors.
The state has 9,244 people living with HIV, with about 3,100 drug users affected, according to MACS. More than 4,300 users have completed rehab since 2020.
The lesson from Operation Trident for Meghalaya is the same: the focus must shift from carriers to financiers. Following the money trail, securing convictions of ultimate beneficiaries and protecting those who speak out will matter more than headline seizures.
