Bengal police bust major betel nut smuggling racket, CM lauds operation

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday praised the state police for cracking a major betel nut smuggling racket in north Bengal and seizing over 1.17 lakh kg of suspected contraband betel nuts.

In a social media post, CM Adhikari described the police’s achievement as the state government’s commitment to zero tolerance against all forms of illicit trade, smuggling and organized rackets across West Bengal.

The Chief Minister also gave details of the police operations, which resulted in the seizure of 1.17 lakh kg of smuggled betel nuts.

“In a swift and decisive operation based on credible intelligence, the Falakata Police under Alipurduar District Police has successfully cracked down on a major illegal betel nut (supari) syndicate, seizing an astounding 1,17,200 kg of betel nuts across multiple storage facilities. A significant portion of the recovered consignment appears to be of foreign origin,” the Chief Minister said in his social media post.

He also said that two individuals, namely Bapon Saha and Sujan Barman, have been apprehended on the spot and cases have been registered under relevant sections of the law to seek police remand.

“Raids are actively continuing to trace and nab every remaining associate connected to this network. I commend the Alipurduar District Police for their vigilance, proactiveness and dedication to upholding law and order. No one involved in anti-social or unlawful activities will be spared,” the Chief Minister said.

For quite some time, north Bengal has turned into a hub for smuggling of betel nuts of foreign origin. Recently, officers of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), too, had conducted searches at multiple locations in Darjeeling and Cooch Behar districts, both in north Bengal, and busted a racket linked to smuggling of foreign-origin betel nuts in India through the Indo-Myanmar border.

Since taking over as the ninth Chief Minister of West Bengal after the assembly elections earlier this year, Suvendu Adhikari has always highlighted major police operations against smuggling, narcotics trafficking and other illegal activities through public communications.

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