ED Raids 16 Sites Over Massive Areca Nut Smuggling Ring

Guwahati: Enforcement Directorate officials raided 16 locations across Assam and West Bengal on October 1. The sweep targeted a syndicate smuggling foreign areca nuts into India. Agents from the ED Guwahati zonal office led the operation. The investigation focuses on massive money laundering schemes linked to the illicit trade.

The group allegedly hauled Indonesian and Thai areca nuts through the India-Myanmar border into Mizoram. Syndicate members used local residents as front proprietors for companies to move hundreds of crores of rupees. The smugglers transported these goods to pan masala and gutka manufacturers in Maharashtra, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. They moved the product using forged transport documents and fake GST paperwork.

A Siliguri-based network managed the logistics. They collected monthly payments from truckers to bypass security. "In return for tokens that purportedly ensured their vehicles could pass unchecked from Assam through West Bengal and Bihar," the network allowed the trucks to move without interference. India maintains a 1,643-km border with Myanmar, providing the primary point of entry for the smuggled nuts.