In a first-of-its-kind in smuggling along the Myanmar border, Assam Rifles has seized 120 bags of human hair which came from the Balaji temple at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, without any valid documents.
“It was coming from Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh and it was also found during investigation that such consignments are being shipped illegally from many pilgrimage sites,” according to a local security official.
The consignment from India enters Myanmar and is taken then onwards to Thailand where they are processed and further shipped to China, the official said, from where it is processed into wigs and shipped to various parts of the world. The official did not rule out the wigs finding their way back to India.
The seizure was done by Serchhip Battalion of 23 Sector Assam Rifles along with Customs department of Champhai district in Chhungte area of Mizoram on February 07, 2021 based on specific information, an Assam Rifles official said. The approximate cost of the recovered human hair was ₹1.8 crore, the official added.
The illegal consignment (50 kg) was packed in 120 bags and loaded in two trucks. The seizure was made 7 km from the Myanmar border.
Mizoram shares over 80% of its border with Bangladesh and Myanmar and a majority of it, 510 km, is with Myanmar.
Indo-Mayanmar border is porus and all kind of illegal activities takes place. Human hair were caught for the first time based on specific input received from own source.
With insurgency no longer active in Myanmar and the border being porous, smuggling of a range of items has been on the rise over the years. A major part of the smuggling consists of narcotics, gold, wildlife among others. However, this is the first time human hair was recovered.
Tonsuring is a common practice among devotees who visit the Balaji temple. In February 2019, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the board which manages the Balaji temple, earned ₹11.17 crore by auctioning 143.9 tonnes of human hair graded into five different categories.
