Investigation on Burmese betel nut transit underway

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, April 24: Guwahati has long been used as the transit route for Myanmarese betel nut or areca nut, besides coal from Meghalaya. The crime branch did seize three smuggled betel nut-laden trucks, besides arresting six people hailing from Silchar, and handed them over to Bashishtha police last week. The nuts from Badarpur were bound for Rangiya. However, after its investigation, Bashistha police failed to trace any such godowns in Rangiya. It is suspected that such consignments are supplied with smaller vehicles from there. The possibility of supplying betel nuts in trains cannot be ruled out. The police will send samples of the betel nut to the laboratory to ascertain their whereabouts. A team of police has already left for Badarpur to ascertain the veracity of the documents produced by the six.