Betel nut smugglers change tactics as police crackdown gets stronger in Myanmar via Mizoram route

Smugglers have come out with new tactics following the police action on the smuggling of betel nuts from Myanmar via Mizoram and Assam.

A senior police official on October 22, stated that in South Assam's Cachar district, betel nuts are brought to Mizoram over the Champai border in Myanmar and kept in several warehouses in the Vairengte region.

The smuggled betel nuts had previously been transferred to Assam in trucks. 

For a long time, smugglers used this strategy. However, due to increased monitoring at the Assam-Mizoram border checkpoint at Lailapur in the Cachar district, the smugglers have been compelled to adjust their strategy.

He went on to say that smugglers are now using tiny cars and different routes through villages to circumvent police checks at the Lailapur checkpoint.

Police monitoring is relatively low along village routes, which smugglers take advantage of.