ED attaches Champhai hotel in Myanmar areca nut case

The Tiau River forms the border between Mizoram and Myanmar. Near Zokhawthar and Champhai, trucks were stationed on the Indian side and carried dry areca nuts that had crossed the border. They transported about 3,103 metric tonnes this way.

The nuts were worth about Rs 1,022.25 crore on paper. The customs duty owed amounted to about Rs 408.90 crore and had not been paid.

People in Myanmar and Burma supplied the nuts. Those in Mizoram handled storage, transport, and movement into Assam and elsewhere. The consignments passed because they used fake e-way bills and forged documents. The suppliers were paid via bank accounts and through money changers.

The ED in Aizawl began its investigation after the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch in Imphal filed an FIR and issued a chargesheet on August 29, 2025. During the searches, investigators placed freezes on bank accounts linked to the accused and their beneficiaries, freezing approximately Rs 1.20 crore.

The bank records, together with the cash deposits, withdrawals, and the documents relating to property, revealed the destination of the money; the investigators also named Zosangpuii, Thangkhanmunga, Zonsanga and Sangneihvela in connection with the purchase, transport, storage and sale of the nuts and with the money obtained from that trade.

On September 4, 2026, the ED issued a provisional attachment order and attached 10 immovable properties amounting to Rs 8.12 crore. The largest of these was the Hotel Jade at Bethel Veng, Champhai, together with the land on which it stood, valued at Rs 6.29 crore; the officers stated that the hotel had been built using money from the nut trade.

The other assets attached were houses and land in and around Champhai. When added to the money frozen in the bank, the total proceeds of crime in the case amounted to about Rs 9.33 crore. The property cannot be sold while the attachment remains in place. The investigation is still ongoing.