Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Aizawl: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched raids across nine locations in Mizoram’s Champhai district on June 4. The operation targets a money laundering network allegedly involved in smuggling dry areca nuts from Myanmar into India, an illicit trade estimated to be worth 970 crore rupees.
These searches follow an investigation initiated by a CBI FIR, which was registered under the orders of the Gauhati High Court. The central agency claims that from 2013 to 2025, smugglers transported Burmese areca nuts across the Tiau River without obtaining proper customs clearance. The goods were then moved to warehouses in Champhai before being sent toward the Assam-Mizoram border at Vairengte.
Investigators allege that traders based in Silchar, Assam, financed the operation by funneling money into accounts managed by local facilitators. Payments to Myanmar-based suppliers were reportedly made in Indian currency and converted through local money exchangers. The agency stated that "local facilitators earned commissions ranging from Rs 2 to Rs 15 per kilogram for procurement, transportation, escort services and customs-related activities."
The network allegedly used fraudulent e-way bills and fabricated customs documents to move the cargo. Between 2021 and 2024, the suspects generated more than 337 crore rupees in illicit tax bills using forged plantation certificates. Furthermore, smugglers purportedly paid between 20 lakh and 1 crore rupees to local residents to pose as claimants for seized goods, allowing them to secure the release of confiscated shipments from authorities.
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