Aizawl, March 30 (IANS) Assam Rifles, along with Customs, have seized a large consignment of smuggled areca nuts, also known as Burmese Betel nuts, valued at Rs 1.79 crore in Mizoram, officials said on Sunday.
A defence spokesman said that Assam Rifles troopers and Customs officials, in a joint raid, recovered 321 bags of areca nuts, which were found dumped in a jungle near Zote-Tlangsam crossing point in Champhai district on Saturday night.
The areca nuts, smuggled from Myanmar, were dumped in the jungle with the intention to ferry them to other parts of India.
The recovered items have been handed over to the Customs Preventive Force in Champhai.
This is the second consignment of Myanmar areca nuts seized in Mizoram within nine days.
Assam Rifles and Customs officials, in a joint operation on March 21, seized a consignment of areca nuts, contained in 180 bags, valued at Rs 1.08 crore from the same district.
Champhai, which shares an unfenced border with Myanmar, is a hotspot for the smuggling of various drugs, foreign cigarettes, areca nuts, arms and ammunition, and exotic animals and their parts.
Large-scale smuggling of areca nuts from Myanmar is seriously affecting farmers in Assam, Mizoram and Tripura, where betel nuts grow in large quantities.
Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma had said on Friday that due to the illegal import of ‘areca nut’ from Myanmar, local cultivators in the state have faced serious challenges in selling their produce at competitive prices. Addressing the training-cum-seminar on ‘Scientific Methods of Cultivation of Areca nut and Pest Management’, he emphasised that the government is working diligently to address these difficulties and take corrective measures. He announced that Rs 7.43 crore has been sanctioned by the North Eastern Council (NEC) for establishing areca nut processing units at Chemphai and Zamuang. He said that these units would ensure proper processing of areca nuts, create value-added products, and facilitate marketing.
Lalduhoma also stressed the importance of proper utilisation of available resources to ensure increased productivity and economic benefits for farmers.
–IANS
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