Guns, Drugs And Terror? Why India-Myanmar Border Has Become A Cause Of Concern For New Delhi

That the political turmoil in Myanmar following the February 2021 coup will throw fresh challenges to Indian projects in that land was predictable.

It was also predictable that the turmoil will have a spillover effect on India. Only the magnitude was not known.

As it is now turning out, Myanmar is becoming a playground of Chinese non-state actors, more precisely the mafia groups, who are engaged in a wide range of illegal activities, throwing serious challenges to India’s internal security.

Part of the problem, like the rising movement of drugs, which has an established link with terror financing, has close similarity with India’s challenges on the western front.

Both sides, incidentally, are among the world’s largest drug-producing zones.

Pressure has been building up on the west coast for some time. In 2017, Indian agencies intercepted a ‘ghost ship’, headed for the ship-breaking yard at Alang, laden with drugs.

The 2021 drug haul at Mundra port led to nationwide arrests by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

But that didn’t stop the flow. The Mumbai zone of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) seized 11,300 kg of drugs during January-September 2022. If you think this is big, then look at the North East.

On 8 October, Home Minister Amit Shah twitted destruction of 40,000 kg of drugs seized by NCB Guwahati (11,000 kg) and state agencies of Assam (8,000 kg), Tripura (12,000 kg), Arunachal Pradesh (4,000 kg), Meghalaya (1,600 kg), Manipur (1,900 kg), Mizoram (1,500 kg) and Nagaland (398 kg).

Chinese Influence

The destruction of drugs took place as part of a special campaign. But the problem is old. Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram share nearly 1,700 km unfenced border with Kachin, Sagaing and Chin states of Myanmar with free movement allowed up to 16 km beyond the border.

The Narendra Modi government initiated a discussion to amend the border pact with the Aung San Suu Kyi government in Naypyidaw. Myanmar called off the negotiation in 2018, citing “domestic compulsions”.

On the face of it, people on either side share similar cultures and oppose moves to restrict movement. The actual “compulsions” lie elsewhere.

The border states of Myanmar — Rakhine Chin, Sagaing, Kachin, Shan and Kayin — are under the shadow rule of China.

The entire area is resource-rich and almost every bit of it — from natural gas to precious metals and stones — is sold out to China by the previous military government. Beijing is also heavily investing in infrastructure in the region.

The unofficial influence is even bigger. Chinese mafia control Jade mining in Kachin. They also plunder Kayin for gold. The ShweKokko in Kayin is a hub of online fraud, human trafficking etc.

The instability in the border states helped Chinese gangs to build a huge network of illegal trade connecting Thailand, Lao and of  course Yunnan province in China, the hub of arms manufacturing and cyber-crimes.

North East India suffered the ill-effects in the past as gold, narcotics, arms and other smuggled items entered India through the porous border. Part of the booty (particularly narcotics) went to Bangladesh through Meghalaya and Assam.

Now that People’s Defence Forces (PDF) or armed militias are ruling the roost in Shan, Kachin or Chin — the grip of the illegal trade racket has strengthened. Cheap Chinese arms and ammunitions are available freely in Myanmar. The drug cartel has become hyperactive. 

Indian Response

The impact is felt in North East India. Drug and arms hauls have become regular. The Himanta Biswa Sarma government in Assam — which connects all states bordering Myanmar — is playing a critical role in supporting the central government initiative to stop the trend.

Mizoram and Meghalaya once emerged as favoured transit routes for drugs and arms.

Over the last few months, at least 20 Myanmarese ultras were arrested from Mizoram. A huge cache of arms was also confiscated from the state.

It is for the agencies to establish if there is any wider design behind the activities in the east and the west.

However, drugs and arms are not the only concern of the government, as is evident in the recent expose of an India-Myanmar-China illegal hair trade amounting to billions of dollars. Investigators say the money trail reaches up to online betting in China.

The modus operandi unearthed so far suggests that the entire trade is controlled by Chinese mafia operating out of Myanmar and/or China.

Hair is sourced from the processing hub at Beldanga in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal for final consumption in China.

Earlier, the exporters in West Bengal were shipping human hair under false code to Myanmar from where it was ferried to China.

As the Centre imposed further restrictions on the trade, hair is now smuggled from West Bengal to Bangladesh for the forward journey to China.

Money comes back through the Hawala route. Shell companies in the lottery havens of the North East accept illicit finance from abroad. 

This is transferred to the exporters in West Bengal through a nationwide network.

A case was registered in this regard in February. Four such shell companies were tracked down in Mizoram. Trail was established in Hyderabad as well.

The investigation is not yet complete. Law enforcers are sensing wider involvement of the online gaming industry.

Most importantly, the links of this Hawala racket with terror financing is not ruled out.