ED raids multiple locations in Mizoram in Rs 970 crore areca nut smuggling probe

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on June 4 conducted searches at multiple locations in Mizoram's border district of Champhai as part of a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged Rs 970-crore cross-border areca nut smuggling racket operating along the India-Myanmar border.

According to the central agency, raids were carried out at nine premises associated with alleged local facilitators of the smuggling network in Champhai, a key border town adjoining Myanmar.

The searches were undertaken under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following a CBI FIR that alleged large-scale smuggling of dry areca nuts from Myanmar into India through Champhai. The CBI case was registered on the directions of the Gauhati High Court while hearing a public interest litigation on the issue in July 2024.

The ED alleged that proceeds of crime amounting to approximately Rs 970 crore were generated through the smuggling network between 2013 and 2025.

According to investigators, Myanmar-origin dry areca nuts, commonly known as Burmese areca nuts, were smuggled across the Tiau River into India without customs clearance at Zokhawthar and Champhai. The consignments were allegedly handed over to local facilitators who stored them in warehouses and coordinated their transportation to Vairengte on the Assam-Mizoram border.

The agency claimed that the operations were financed by traders and financiers based in Silchar, Assam, who allegedly transferred substantial amounts through banking channels to accounts operated by facilitators in Mizoram.

The ED further alleged that payments to suppliers in Myanmar were made in Indian currency and subsequently converted into Myanmar's currency through money exchangers operating near the international border.

Investigators also claimed that fraudulent e-way bills worth Rs 251.19 crore under SGST and Rs 86.25 crore under CGST were generated in Champhai district between 2021 and 2024 using forged plantation certificates and fabricated customs clearance documents to facilitate the movement of areca nuts.

According to the agency, local facilitators earned commissions ranging from Rs 2 to Rs 15 per kilogram for procurement, transportation, escort services and customs-related activities.

The ED alleged that one of the key methods used by the network involved presenting local residents as front claimants before customs authorities to obtain the provisional release of seized consignments. Payments ranging from Rs 20 lakh to more than Rs 1 crore were allegedly made in connection with customs release proceedings for individual seizures.

The agency also claimed that, in several cases, unrelated bills of entry were fraudulently submitted before customs authorities to portray smuggled areca nuts as legally imported goods.

An analysis of bank accounts linked to the accused allegedly revealed that more than Rs 970 crore in proceeds of crime was routed through multiple accounts over the 13-year period.

Further investigation into the case is underway.