As many as 103 bags of illegal areca nuts worth over Rs 57 lakhs was seized by troopers of Assam Rifles in Mizoram’s Champhai district.
Acting on specific information, a combined team of Assam Rifles and the Customs Department carried out an operation and seized areca nuts worth Rs 57.68 lakh.
The seized consignment was later handed over to the Customs department, Champhai for further legal proceedings.
No arrests were made in connection to the case.
The ongoing smuggling of illegal areca nuts is a major cause of concern for the state of Mizoram. Assam Rifles, rightly christened as the 'Sentinels of Northeast' have successfully launched such operations against the smuggling activities in Mizoram.
Last month, a huge cache of Burmese areca nuts worth crores was recovered in Mizoram in a joint operation.
the joint operation was carried out by personnel of the Assam Rifles along with the border customs department at Melbuk crossing in Mizoram along the India – Myanmar international borders.
Officials informed that as many as 780 sacks of Burmese areca nuts were found and seized during the operation. The huge cache had been smuggled in and was stored in Mizoram and was meant to be transported further inwards, said officials.
The entire seizure was estimated by officials to be worth around Rs 3.51 crores. Officials also mentioned that the huge stash of areca nuts was stored in the Melbuk village in Mizoram’s Champhai district.
In December last year, Assam Police foiled a smuggling attempt and seized 2000 kilograms of Burmese areca nuts concealed inside an oil tanker in the Cachar district, which was illegally transported from Mizoram. The Cachar district Police also arrested a person in connection to the seizure.
