DRI busts Rs 2,500 crore areca nut import racket

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has uncovered a major racket involving the fraudulent import of areca nuts, causing an estimated customs duty evasion of over Rs 2,500 crore, the Ministry of Finance said. The DRI alleged that syndicates sourced areca nuts from Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia, routed them through Bangladesh, and falsely declared them as Bangladeshi-origin to claim duty exemptions under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement.

The operation led to the arrest of nine people, seizure of around Rs 75 lakh in cash, and approximately 160 metric tonnes of areca nuts. The Customs Broker licence of a firm involved in clearing fraudulent consignments was suspended. Separately, the Deccan Herald reported that the Enforcement Directorate and the Narcotics Control Bureau have uncovered a three-tier network smuggling areca nuts from Myanmar into India, with bank transactions worth crores of rupees linking the parties.

The DRI investigation continues, with searches conducted in Kolkata and Visakhapatnam. Officials recovered documents and cash believed to be proceeds from illegal imports. The ministry said the fraudulent imports not only caused revenue loss but also hurt domestic areca nut growers and legitimate businesses by distorting prices.