Aizawl, June 4: The Enforcement Directorate carried out searches at several sites along the Myanmar border in Mizoram on Thursday as part of a money laundering investigation into a cross‑border areca nut smuggling racket. Officials confirmed that raids were underway at about nine premises linked to local facilitators in Champhai, a border town known to be a hub for such activities.

According to the agency, the operation is directed at dismantling a highly organised network accused of orchestrating large‑scale smuggling of Burmese supari, or dry areca nuts, into India. The crackdown is part of a broader effort to curb illicit trade across the porous frontier and to address the financial channels allegedly supporting the racket.

The ED’s focus on Champhai Emphasizes the town’s role in facilitating the inflow of contraband areca nuts from Myanmar, which has long posed economic and regulatory challenges for authorities. Officials said the searches are expected to yield crucial evidence in the ongoing probe into money laundering linked to the smuggling network.