Central team concerned over smuggling through Moreh

IMPHAL, July 21: A high-powered Central team today expressed concern over the smuggling of foreign goods through this border town in Chandel district bordering Myanmar, official sources said. The seven-member 'task force on boundary management' led by former Union Home Secretary Madhav Godbole also inspected border gates with Myanmar before holding a meeting with senior district and security officials. The team arrived in Imphal yesterday to assess the situation in the border areas of the state. Sources said Godbole wondered how the foreign goods were smuggled into the Indian side in spite of deployment of several security agencies concerned to check the smuggling at the international border. The team member, Admiral (Retd) AR Tandon after the meeting told PTI here that the location of Border Security Force at gate number one was in a 'very interior area' and should be shifted to some other area from where it could function properly. The team would submit a detailed report to the Centre on problems at border areas in Northeastern region. Sources said the team also went to Namphalong market complex bordering Moreh, on the Myanmar side. Moreh, about 120 km south of Imphal, is an important border point. The team left Dimapur by helicopter for visiting border areas in other northeastern states after spending about an hour in the border town, according to sources.