Smuggled Burmese areca nuts, foreign cigarettes worth over Rs 8 cr seized in Mizoram

The seized cigarettes worth Rs 7.8 crore were handed over to the state police in Thingsai village in the neighbouring Hnahthial district on the same day, an official said.

Aizawl: Assam Rifles personnel have recovered smuggled foreign cigarettes and Burmese areca nuts with a combined value of Rs 8 crore in two separate operations near the India-Myanmar border in east Mizoram's Champhai and the state's southernmost Lawngtlai district, an official said on Friday.

During an operation in Lawngtlai district's Cherhlun area on Wednesday, troopers of the paramilitary force, assisted by the Mizoram Police, seized 600 cases of foreign cigarettes smuggled from Myanmar, she said.

The seized cigarettes worth Rs 7.8 crore were handed over to the state police in Thingsai village in the neighbouring Hnahthial district on the same day, she said.

In another operation, the joint team of Assam Rifles and Customs officials seized 4,400 kg of smuggled Burmese areca nuts at Hmuhmeltha in Champhai district on Wednesday, the officer said.

The consignment worth Rs 30.8 lakh was handed over to the Customs preventive force in Champhai for further legal proceedings, she added.