Warehouses in Mizoram sealed; involved in smmugling of areca nut

Aizawl: The Mizoram government will take steps to seal all warehouses run for storing illegally smuggled areca nuts, an official statement said on Monday.

A meeting of the Task Group on Illegal areca Nuts presided over by its Chairman and Home Commissioner and Secretary H. Lalengmawia on Monday decided that the Task Group would submit a report to the Central Customs Department to ensure that That all illegal warehouses be stocked as well as smuggled areca nuts. A statement issued by the state information and public relations department said that various parts of the state have been sealed and necessary legal action is being taken accordingly.
It said the meeting decided to collect the existing stocks of smuggled nuts from across the state during February.
The meeting also decided to speed up measures to stop the smuggling of areca nuts from Myanmar and other Southeast Asian countries.

The meeting further decided that the State Police would strengthen all the check gates across the state to enable them to function effectively and assist the Young Mizo Association (YMA) volunteers in every possible way to control the smuggling activities.

The meeting said that the Deputy Commissioners will also submit detailed Land Settlement Certificates (LSCs) or Village Council passes of the owners of the land where the stay warehouses are being constructed.
The Task Force on Illegal Nuts was formed in December last year to curb the smuggling of nuts from Myanmar and other Southeast Asian countries.

The meeting was attended by police officials, security forces, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials and representatives of the Central Young Mizo Association (CYMA), besides officials from state home and law and judicial departments.