New Delhi/Aizawl, June 4 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted searches at multiple locations in Mizoram as part of its investigation into an alleged Myanmar areca nut (Burmese betel nut) smuggling and money laundering racket involving proceeds of crime estimated at over Rs 970 crore, the central probe agency said.

According to a statement by the probe agency, the ED Aizawl Sub-Zonal office conducted searches under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, at nine premises in Champhai district in eastern Mizoram on Thursday.

The searches were conducted at the residential and business premises of Lalrempari, Lalhnemi (Proprietors, M/s Rem Rem & Beki Store), Sangneihvela (Proprietor, M/s SNV Store), Thangkhanmunga (Proprietor, M/s CS Store), Rothuamluia (Proprietor, M/s NS Enterprises), Lalremmawia (Proprietor, M/s S&R Hardware Store), Laldua (Proprietor, M/s JH Family Enterprise), Zonunsanga (Proprietor, M/s Mami Store), and Zosangpuii.

ED initiated an investigation based on an FIR registered by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), CBI, Imphal, in connection with a large-scale smuggling racket involving the illegal import of dry areca nuts from Myanmar into India through the bordering Champhai district in Mizoram.

The FIR was registered pursuant to directions issued by the Gauhati High Court on July 16, 2024, following a PIL.

The ED said that the scheduled offences are punishable under Sections 120B, 420, 467, and 471 of the Indian Penal Code, which are listed in Part A of the Schedule to the PMLA, 2002.

ED investigation revealed that Myanmar nationals smuggled dry areca nuts across the Tiu River into India without customs clearance at Zokhawthar and Champhai, and handed over consignments to local facilitators at the border.

The local facilitators stored the smuggled areca nuts in godowns at Champhai and coordinated their transportation to Vairengte at the Assam-Mizoram border.

The operations were financed by traders and financiers based in Silchar (southern Assam), who remitted large sums through banking channels into the accounts of the Mizoram-based facilitators. Payments to Myanmarese suppliers were made in Indian currency and subsequently converted into Myanmar currency through money exchangers operating near the border.

The ED investigation further revealed that e-way bills amounting to Rs 251.19 crore (SGST) and Rs 86.25 crore (CGST) were fraudulently issued in Champhai district during the period 2021-2024 for the movement of areca nuts, using forged plantation certificates and false customs clearance documents, despite the plantation owners not being registered under GST.

Statements recorded from various persons under Section 50 of the PMLA established that local facilitators received commissions of Rs 2 to Rs 15 per kilogram for procurement, transportation, escorting, and customs-release-related activities.

A key element of the modus operandi was the use of local persons as front claimants before Customs authorities to secure provisional release of seized consignments, with payments of Rs 20 lakh to over Rs one crore made towards Customs release proceedings per seizure.

In several seizure cases, unrelated bills of entry were fraudulently submitted before Customs authorities to project smuggled areca nuts as legally imported goods.

Analysis of the bank accounts of the accused persons revealed that proceeds of crime aggregating over Rs 970 crore were routed through multiple accounts over the period 2013 to 2025.

During the course of the search operations, incriminating documents, including title deeds and property documents pertaining to immovable properties held in the names of accused persons and their family members, business records, and electronic devices, including mobile phones, were seized under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002.

Further investigation of the case is underway.

–IANS

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