NONGPOH:
A team police personnel from Byrnihat Outpost, Ri Bhoi district, on July 5, seized around 90 sacks of Areca nuts that were being transported illegally in two buses.
Based on a tip-off, the police stopped the two vehicles that were loaded with Areca nuts from Umkiang around 6 am on Tuesday.
Rafikul Rehman (32), one of the drivers and a resident of Jorhat, Assam, said that the nuts were being transported in both the buses on the instructions of the owner, Hiren Ali. One bus, carrying 44 sacks, was headed to Guwahati from Jiribam, while the other, which was carrying the rest of the Areca nuts, was going from Dharmanagar to Guwahati.
The police are currently investigating the matter, while the two buses and the sacks of Areca nuts have been handed over to the customs department.
Notably, this is not the first time that the Ri Bhoi police have caught people smuggling areca nuts.