Guwahati: The Assam Rifles has foiled multiple smuggling attempts of areca nuts and seized an “astounding” 4428.314 tonnes of the contraband item, valued at Rs 156 crore in the international market, between January and December 2023, in three Northeastern states.
The Assam Rifles made these seizures in Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram while being smuggled into India from Myanmar.
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An astonishing 2712.704 tonnes of illegal areca nuts, estimated to be worth Rs 95 crore in Manipur, 1032.96 tonnes, estimated to be worth Rs 37 crore, in Nagaland, and 682.65 tonnes, valued approximately at Rs 24 crore, in Mizoram, were seized by the Assam Rifles during the year 2023.
The paramilitary force, who are referred to as “The Sentinel of the Northeast,” also apprehended several alleged smugglers involved in the illegal trade and seized hundreds of vehicles, bearing Indian and Myanmar registration numbers, during the said period.
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On the other hand, smuggled areca nuts, estimated to be worth Rs 82.54 crore in the grey market, were seized by the Assam Rifles in the Kamjong district of Manipur in January 2024 alone.
Smuggling of areca nuts, especially Burmese areca nuts, is quite rampant in the Northeast as it shares 1,643-kilometre-long international borders with Myanmar.
Manipur shares a 398-kilometre-long border with the neighbouring country, Mizoram shares 510 kilometres, Arunachal Pradesh (520) and Nagaland (215).
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These smuggled areca nuts often make their way to the region through the porous Indo-Myanmar international borders and are then transported further to different parts of the country.
The smuggled areca nuts are first brought to the Northeast from Myanmar and then transported to either neighbouring Nagaland’s Dimapur or Assam to be further transshipped to its final destination in other parts of the country.
Areca nuts are chewed across South Asia even though it affects one’s health severely. In the year 2021, a high-level probe was ordered in India into the smuggling of areca nuts from its neighbouring countries.
Other than areca nuts, traffickers also smuggle various other contraband items into India from Myanmar including narcotic drugs, arms and ammunition, wild exotic animals and birds, and gold, among others.
The Assam Rifles has also seized narcotic drugs estimated to be worth Rs 200 crore in the grey market in Ukhrul and Tengnoupal districts of Manipur in 2023.