Mizoram: Six arrested with smuggled areca nuts worth Rs 1.81 crore

Assam Rifles personnel in Mizoram, in a joint operation with customs officials arrested six people with smuggled areca nuts valued at Rs 1.81 crore from Champhai district.

Acting on a specific intelligence input, Assam Rifles personnel and customs officials launched an area domination patrol in Mualkawi in east Mizoram's Champhai district in the early hours of Thursday.

The joint team intercepted six people and upon thorough search recovered 386 bags (30,880 Kg) of smuggled areca nuts worth Rs 1.81 crore from the possession of the suspects, the statement said.

The accused, along with the seized areca nuts were handed over to Customs Preventive Force in Champhai for further legal action, the statement added.

Earlier this month, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has intercepted a major drug trafficking attempt near Aizawl, seizing 16 kg of methamphetamine tablets valued at Rs 16 crore in the international illicit drug market.

The seizure took place when a vehicle was stopped on the Aizawl–Champhai road on the city’s outskirts. Officials discovered 16 brick-sized packages of pink/orange meth tablets concealed in specially modified chambers beneath the rear seat and inside the fuel tank. 

Two individuals - the driver and his accomplice, were arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.