Guwahati, June 8 -- Reported by Roopak Goswami

Guwahati: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has raided nine locations in Mizoram's Champhai district as part of an investigation into an alleged Rs 970-crore areca nut smuggling and money laundering racket linked to Myanmar.

The searches were conducted on June 4 at the residences and business establishments of several traders and facilitators in Champhai under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The case originates from an FIR registered by the CBI's Anti-Corruption Branch in Imphal following a Gauhati High Court order in a public interest litigation concerning the illegal import of dry areca nuts from Myanmar into India.

According to the ED, its investigation has ...