DRI takes Nagpur areca nut trader Jayesh Panchmatia to Indore in suspected customs evasion case

A team of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Indore, recently took action in Nagpur, detaining areca nut trader Jayesh Panchmatia and taking him to Indore. News of the action sent shockwaves through Nagpur's market. The DRI has picked up around 10 traders from across the country in the case.

The action is said to be linked to a large seizure of areca nut in Indore in 2024. According to sources, areca nut worth about Rs 30 crore to Rs 35 crore was seized then. The case relates to the import of rotten areca nut. Areca nut was also seized from Panchmatia's warehouse. The sacks in which it was stored were marked "Origin of Bangladesh".

The DRI is now examining this chain of areca nut supply from Bangladesh. The department says areca nut is not grown in Bangladesh at all, yet the sacks carried the Bangladesh marking. The department suspects large-scale customs evasion in the case. The DRI is investigating solely from the angle of alleged customs duty evasion.

Customs duty of about 105 per cent is levied on areca nut. To avoid it, areca nut traders resort to various tactics and smuggle the nut into Nagpur. From here, areca nut is supplied to gutkha-making companies.

Sources said three more people from Nagpur district are named in the case. Of them, Chaurasia and Siddiq are in the areca nut trade. The third is a financier who runs an iron business as a front but also finances areca nut dealings. His name is also recorded in the FIR.

Action against these traders is also being considered in the coming days. It has been stated that Jayesh was arrested so that the entire link could be traced.

Jayesh Panchmatia, alias Tikku Bhai, has earlier figured in older customs cases before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Chennai and the Madras High Court. He played a key role in that case too, and it too concerned areca nut imports.