2 held in Assam's Goalpara for smuggling 'supari' from Bangladesh

Guwahati (Assam) [India], September 20 : The Special Task Force (STF) of Assam police apprehended two persons allegedly involved in the illegal smuggling of supari (betel nut) from Bangladesh to India, officials said.
Partha Sarathi Mahanta, DIG (STF) said that following input about an illegal consignment of foreign origin to be handed over to two persons in Goalpara district, an STF team from Guwahati headed for Goalpara to begin a search operation.
"During the search operation two persons involved in illegal trading of supari, identified as Mohibul Alam (35), a resident of Matia and Saber Ali (39), a resident of Bohoti Mayapara, were apprehended from their respective houses in the intervening night of September 14 and 15" DIG Partha said.
During the probe, it was revealed that the apprehended persons were involved in money laundering with Bangladeshi businessmen via cash transactions and payments through suspected bogus Indian Bank accounts, the DIG Partha added.
"The modus operandi was to get involved with many middlemen across the India-Bangladesh international border. It has been found that traders involved in illegal smuggling of Supari from Bangladesh to India mostly carried out transactions through this illegal hawala method," DIG Partha added.
Following this, a case has been registered under sections 13, 23, 120 (B), 418, 420, 468 and 121 (A) of the Indian Penal Code at the STF police station.
"Further investigation is going on," the official said.