170 sacks of Burmese areca confiscated from oil tanker, 2 arrested; syndicate in question

The Burmese Supari Syndicate is again active in Barak Valley and as usual, Cachar becomes a safe corridor for those running this. Fresh methods of smuggling Burmese areca have come up in the market. This time, oil takers are their “Trojan Horse” and the Burmese supari are the soldiers that attack the state’s economy along with local areca cultivators. On Wednesday afternoon, an oil tanker was apprehended by Cachar Police in Lailapur, from which many sacks of Burmese areca were found. Similarly in the evening, another oil tanker was apprehended by the police in Dhwarbond. 170 sacks of the illegal Burmese supari were found inside the hollow tanker compartments. 

This truck coming from Mizoram was headed for state outside the North East to deliver this huge consignment of Burmese areca. While on the move, this truck bearing registration number MZ 01D 9658 was apprehended by Dhwarbond Police. Upon search operation, many bags of Burmese areca were found in the tank of the truck, instead of petroleum oil. A total of 170 such bags filled with dry Burmese areca were counted by the police. The driver and co-driver of the truck were arrested by the police while on the operation.

The two arrested in this connection are Kamrul Hussain Laskar and Akbar Hussain Mazumder who are just small kingpins of the alleged larger syndicate. The police are interrogating them for further information and continuing the investigation. The market value of the 170 sacks of Burmese areca is estimated to be around 20 lakhs rupees.

It is worth mentioning here that the Burmese supari syndicate has become active yet again and such smuggling is going on at full scale for some time now. Many allege that the circuit runs from the state’s capital in Dispur. Even though the Cachar Police gets hold of one or two vehicles loaded with Burmese areca, the syndicate goes on as many trucks loaded from Mizoram pass through the heart of Barak without being caught or apprehended by the police. Only petty smugglers and small kingpins are being made scapegoats, this is yet another allegation raised against the Cachar Police. Is this just a scripted drama to cover up the syndicate trucks and keep many mouths shut, is a serious question after the news cases.