The Enforcement Directorate has frozen 1,424 bank accounts in a suspected hawala network tied to drug trafficking along the India-Myanmar border and arrested six people, officials said. Coordinated searches across Mizoram and Manipur began on Friday, targeting premises linked to hawala operators, mule account holders, front businesses and a mini-ATM counter. The ED said the raids were carried out in connection with three money-laundering cases linked to the trafficking of heroin, brown sugar and methamphetamine tablets from Myanmar. Authorities froze 1,424 bank accounts and provisionally attached assets worth Rs 26.01 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Searches covered locations connected to suspected operators and key bank branches holding related accounts in Champhai, Aizawl and Lawngtlai in Mizoram, and Churachandpur in Manipur. The central probe agency described the 1,643 km India-Myanmar border as a porous route for drugs moving both ways, including through the Champhai-Zokhawthar sector of Mizoram. It alleged that chemicals used in drug production are sent from India to Myanmar, while heroin, brown sugar and methamphetamine tablets produced in Myanmar are brought into India. Authorities said the ED action was conducted in coordination with the Narcotics Control Bureau and Mizoram Police. The ED also claimed that mule account holders admitted renting their accounts to suspected drug-linked hawala operators for Rs 500 per lakh. The six accused were arrested, with three in each state, and the ED’s money-laundering investigation is ongoing.