Mumbai, June 5: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted raids at nine locations in Champhai, Mizoram, related to the smuggling of betel nuts from Myanmar and money laundering. This operation involves over ₹970 crores in proceeds from crime.
The ED’s Aizawl sub-zonal office initiated the search under Section 17(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The raids targeted various locations, including Lalrempui, Lalnemi (owned by Rem Rem and Becky Store), Sangneivela (owned by SNV Store), Thangkhanuanga (owned by CS Store), Rothuamluia (owned by NS Enterprises), Lalremmaviah (owned by S&R Hardware Store), Laldua (owned by JH Family Enterprise), Zonunsanga (owned by Mami Store), and residential and business premises in Josangpui.
The investigation was prompted by an FIR filed by the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch in Imphal. This FIR is linked to a large-scale smuggling racket involving the illegal transportation of dry betel nuts from Myanmar into India via Champhai, Mizoram. The FIR was registered in compliance with directives issued by the Guwahati High Court in PIL No. 5/2022 on July 16, 2024.
The ED’s inquiry revealed that Myanmar nationals were smuggling dry betel nuts through the Tiu River into India without customs clearance, handing over the shipments to local facilitators at the border. These local agents stored the smuggled betel nuts in warehouses in Champhai and coordinated their transport to Vairengte, located at the Assam-Mizoram border.
Funding for these operations was provided by traders and financiers based in Silchar, Assam, who transferred large sums through banking channels to the accounts of local facilitators in Mizoram. Payments to Myanmar suppliers were made in Indian currency and later converted to Myanmar currency through money exchangers operating near the border.
Further investigation revealed that during the period from 2021 to 2024, fraudulent e-way bills amounting to ₹251.19 crores (SGST) and ₹86.25 crores (CGST) were issued for the movement of betel nuts in Champhai district. This involved the use of forged plantation certificates and false customs clearance documents, with plantation owners not even registered under GST.
Statements recorded from various individuals established that local facilitators received commissions ranging from ₹2 to ₹15 per kilogram for activities related to the purchase, transport, escorting, and customs release of betel nuts. A key element of this operation involved using local individuals as “front claimants” to temporarily release seized shipments before customs officials.
Payments for customs release proceedings ranged from ₹20 lakhs to over ₹1 crore per seizure. In several cases, fraudulent “bills of entry” were submitted to customs officials to misrepresent smuggled betel nuts as legally imported goods.
Investigations into the bank accounts of the accused revealed that a total of ₹970 crores in “proceeds of crime” was transferred through multiple accounts between 2013 and 2025. During the raids, incriminating documents, including ownership deeds for properties registered in the names of the accused and their family members, business records, and electronic devices, were seized under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002.
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