Photo Courtesy: nenews
Aizawl: The Enforcement Directorate exposed a 1,500 crore money laundering ring smuggling foreign betel nuts into India. Agents raided 20 locations across Assam, Mizoram, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh on July 3. They seized 1.30 crore in cash, property deeds, and financial records.
Smugglers pushed areca nuts through the Champhai-Zokhawthar border crossing. Official records proved Champhai produced zero domestic areca nuts, confirming the foreign origin of the shipments. The agency stated this discrepancy establishes that the goods were brought into the country illegally. The syndicate hid their tracks with forged GST invoices and ghost firms.
Buyers in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh funneled payments to hawala operators in Assam. These funds hit transit accounts at Mizoram Rural Bank before reaching smugglers in Champhai. Gang members withdrew the cash and sent it back to suppliers in Myanmar using hawala channels. Investigators froze 33 bank accounts linked to the operation. The ED filed the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act based on FIRs from Assam Police and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.
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