Assam Rifles Seizes Smuggled Areca Nut Consignment in Mizoram

AIZAWL: Assam Rifles and Customs officials, in a joint operation, have seized a consignment of areca nuts, also known as Burmese betel nuts, valued at Rs 1.08 crore in Mizoram, officials said on Saturday.

A defence spokesman said that acting on specific intelligence inputs, a large quantity of areca nuts, contained in 180 bags, was seized at Zote in the Champhai district on Friday. Valued at Rs 1.08 crore, the areca nuts were smuggled into the state from Myanmar and dumped in a jungle for hiding.

The contraband has been handed over to the Customs Preventive Force in Champhai. The Champhai district, which shares an unfenced border with Myanmar, is a hotspot for the smuggling of various drugs, foreign cigarettes, areca nuts, arms and ammunition, and exotic animals and their parts. Myanmar’s Chin state is the origin of drug smuggling through six Mizoram districts – Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual, and Serchhip. Large-scale smuggling of areca nuts from Myanmar is seriously affecting farmers in Assam and Tripura, where betel nuts grow in large quantities. (IANS)

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