ED cracks down on Burmese areca nut smugglers in Assam; money trail leads to trader in Delhi
The Enforcement Directorate has conducted raids across Assam and Mizoram targeting an organized network involved in smuggling Burmese areca nuts. The investigation, linked to a money laundering case, uncovered fraudulent e-way bills and forged documents used to facilitate the illegal trade.
Why it matters
This crackdown highlights the scale of cross-border smuggling operations and the use of financial fraud to bypass GST regulations in the Northeast.
The Enforcement Directorate raided 10 residential and business premises linked with eight people allegedly involved in the smuggling of areca nuts from Myanmar. The money trail of the alleged smugglers in Mizoram and Assam was traced to traders in New Delhi, the agency said on Thursday (August 6, 2026).
The ED, in its statement, said sleuths of its unit in Mizoram’s Aizawl conducted search operations under a relevant Section of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at the identified locations across southern Assam’s Cachar, Hailakandi, and Sribhumi districts on Wednesday (August 5, 2026).
The seven people accused of involvement in the illegal trade of Burmese areca nuts are Jakir Hussain, Kabir Hussain, Anjan Kumar Paul, Pinku Paul, Romi Jain, Anowar Hussain, Khalil Uddin, and Dipankar Deb.
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