Major Smuggling Bid Foiled: DRI Seizes Over 83 Metric Tons of Areca Nuts at Mundra Port

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has recently intercepted a significant smuggling operation at Mundra Port, seizing 83.352 metric tons of Areca nuts, valued at Rs. 5.71 Crore. The nuts were clandestinely shipped from the UAE and falsely declared as Base oil in the import documents. Acting on specific intelligence, DRI officers from the Ahmedabad Zonal Unit conducted a thorough examination of the containers. They discovered 738 drums in total, with 658 containing split Areca nuts and the remaining 80 filled with an oily liquid, presumably Base oil, used to conceal the smuggled nuts.

The seizure included not only the Areca nuts but also the 14.383 metric tons of oily liquid, collectively valued at approximately Rs. 5.77 Crores. The contraband and the cover cargo were seized under the provisions of the Customs Act 1962. The operation unveiled a novel smuggling technique, where Areca nuts were packed in drums and hidden within a shipment declared as Base oil to evade customs detection. This method indicates the lengths to which smugglers will go to circumvent customs checks and avoid detection.

Importing Areca Nut into India involves a high tariff value and a duty structure of 110% to protect the domestic industry. Smugglers, aiming to bypass these hefty duties, have resorted to misdeclaration in their import documents. The DRI has been actively working to combat such illicit smuggling activities. Further investigations revealed that the importer, as listed in the import-export code (IEC), was non-existent at the declared premises, highlighting the fraudulent nature of the operation.