DRI Busts INR 2,500 Crore Areca Nut Import Scam, 9 Arrested for Falsely Declaring Southeast Asian Origin

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), in a month-long intelligence-led operation, has dismantled a major network involved in importing South-East Asian areca nuts into India by falsely declaring them as Bangladeshi origin and fraudulently availing concessional duty benefits under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.