Silchar, Feb 20 (IANS) Assam forest officials have seized 12 trucks carrying around 120 tons of illegal ‘Burmese supari’ (betel nuts from Myanmar) from Dima Hasao district in the state’s southern part, officials said on Thursday.
The market value of the betel nuts is estimated to be Rs 3.60 crore.
Acting on a tip off, the forest department personnel seized the trucks in the Harangajao and Jatinga area near Haflong with the help of local people on Wednesday.
According to the forest officials, the ‘Burmese supari’ is smuggled from Myanmar and then unlawfully transported to different parts of India and abroad.
Villagers told the media that a nexus comprising a section of police officials, political leaders and traders are carrying on the illegal trade of ‘Burmese supari’.
“These ‘Burmese supari’, various drugs, other contraband are being smuggled from Myanmar into Mizoram and Manipur and then through Assam illegally transported to different parts of India and even abroad,” the forest officials said refusing to disclose their identity.
The officials alleged that the police did not assist them in curbing the illegal business in forest produce and unlawful trade in various items like ‘Burmese supari’.
Last month Assam Rifles personnel seized around 1,353 bags of ‘Burmese supari’ weighing approximately 82 tons and worth around Rs 2.44 crores and 491 logs of different categories of timber worth approximately Rs 2.5 crores from Manipur’s border villages in Kamjong district (northeastern Manipur) bordering Myanmar.
Four Indian northeastern states of Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh share a 1,640-km unfenced border with Myanmar.
–IANS
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