Guwahati, July 6 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has uncovered an alleged Rs 1,500-crore cross-border areca nut smuggling and money laundering racket spanning Assam, Mizoram, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, exposing what it described as a well-organised syndicate with links to Myanmar.

The agency carried out searches at 20 locations across the four states on July 3 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), targeting individuals and firms suspected of facilitating the illegal import of areca nut through the Indo-Myanmar border and laundering the proceeds.

The case is based on multiple FIRs registered in Assam relating to the smuggling of areca nut and evasion of customs duty. It follows an earlier Directorate of Revenue Int...