In an Australian airport, en route to his new home in Darwin, Solomon Islander James Meiko Lengi recalls the sinking feeling he had when a border force sniffer dog singled him out in a line-up.
Key points:
- Australian biosecurity laws allow up to 10kg of betel nut to be imported
- Demand for betel nut in Australia is soaring
- Known for its euphoric and relaxing effect, the nut is highly addictive and causes disease
"When the dog goes to everyone and then stops on you, everyone knows that you're carrying something," he said.
"The worst feeling is that I don't know what's in my bag, like in my pocket … if someone put a drug in there."
The officer reached into Mr Lengi's pocket and revealed the culprit — the skin of a betel nut.
Known for its euphoric and relaxing effect, betel nut is the seed of the fruit of the areca palm and is chewed into a vibrant red paste.
"Everyone just laughed. Because like, 'oh, just betel nut'."
Mr Lengi had left Honiara airport chewing betel nut, but forgot he had left the skin of the fruit in his pocket which he planned to use to clean his teeth.
Ten kilograms of betel nut are allowed to be imported under Australian biosecurity laws, but any fleshy material must be removed beforehand.
Mr Lengi was thankful to be let off with a warning, and has since travelled freely with his supply of betel nuts.
In Australia, demand for betel nut is soaring, driven partly by the expansion of a Pacific workers program that now includes the aged care, hospitality and tourism sectors and sees a 3,000-strong Solomon Islander worker population.
However, even though it's legal to bring a small amount of betel nut into Australia for personal use, it's a restricted product and illegal to sell here for human consumption.
One Solomon Islands biosecurity officer, who asked not to be named, said they were witnessing an increase in the amount of betel nut taken from Honiara to Australia — all of it happening at an informal level.
Honiara-based suppliers of betel nut peel, freeze and pack the product ready for it to be taken overseas and sold.
KFC or betel nut?
At Honiara's trading hub, Regina Gwaena waits with more than 50 other betel nut sellers in small roadside stalls for their daily supply to arrive.
"Getting the right kind of betel nut is difficult work. We have to wait at the wharves, the coastlines, or at the betel nut markets," she said.
"When we buy the betel nuts, we remove the skin and we wrap it in a plastic wrap before putting it in the aluminium foil and into the freezer."
Ms Gwaena has been supplying betel nut to Australia for more than a year, having Wantoks (kinship group) or close relatives sell her product abroad and transfer back the proceeds.
Seasonal worker Emele Delaiverata says she spends up to $200 a week on betel nut and insists it is a better option than fast food.
"I would rather spend $50 on betel nut and not KFC," she said.
"It's expensive but when there's betel nut we don't even think about the price."
Betel nut comes from the areca palm, which grows in South-East Asia and Pacific countries.
The nut is often chewed wrapped in betel leaves, with lime powder, mustard stick, spices, or tobacco.
"It's like a pack. And there's like two betel nuts and three fruit leaves," Ms Delaiverata said.
She said selling the nut in Australia translated into a lot of money back home.
"So it's $10 Australian for a betel nut. You compare that back home as almost, what $60 Solomon dollars."
An addictive drug
In the Asia-Pacific region, chewing betel nut has long been an important cultural practice, with children as young as eight partaking, but this has led to major health problems.
While it has some positive antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, research has found chewing the nut can cause mouth and oesophageal cancer, as well as tooth decay, discolouration and gum disease.
The soaring black market trade has had health experts concerned about the number of migrants presenting to dentists with oral cancer.
In an earlier interview with the ABC, Australian Dental Association oral medicine specialist Professor Michael McCullough said removing cancers caused by betel nut chewing often disfigures patients.
Professor McCullough said ulcers that do not heal, changes in mouth texture, and white patches of soft tissue that cannot be rubbed away with a finger or cloth were common signs of mouth cancer.
Betel nut is the fourth-most widely used psychoactive substance worldwide, after nicotine, alcohol and caffeine, and research shows about 10 per cent of the world's population chew it in some capacity.
The nut is so popular, Solomon Islanders in Australia are even willing to pay for it to be posted to them.
"Sometimes if we live far away people post it over to us. And then we have paid for the betel nut and the posting as well," Ms Delaiverata said.
Suppliers in Honiara might be meeting the demand in Australia, but Mr Lengi said there was a more convenient solution for those living in the Northern Territory.
"There's betel nut trees everywhere [around Darwin] so I usually buy betel nuts from a lady from PNG and her husband, and also an old couple from East Timor," he said.
Mr Lengi said he paid a fraction of what it costs in other cities.
"If I pay $10 I get 10 fruits, but if I buy in Brisbane or somewhere I might get like three fruits [for $10], so it's way cheaper.
"So when I'm in Darwin I chew a lot of betel nut."
What does the law say?
In addition to the 10kg limit, any imported betel nut must be free of pests and disease.
But it is not allowed to be sold as food for human consumption, because the active ingredient, arecoline, is prohibited under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code and considered a schedule 4 poison.
In a statement, a Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries spokesperson said betel nut does not require a biosecurity permit, but it must comply with two sets of legislation, the Biosecurity Act 2015 and the Imported Food Control Act 1992.
The acts only apply to betel nut that is imported commercially for human consumption.
"Any person who brings or imports betel nuts into Australia that fail to comply with the specified biosecurity import conditions may be subject to a financial penalty of up to 1,000 penalty units or imprisonment up to 5 years, or both, in accordance with section 186 of the Biosecurity Act 2015," the department statement said.
"Under the Imported Food Control Act 1992 the maximum penalty for importing food that does not meet applicable standards and to which the act applies, is 10 years' imprisonment."
Story first published on ABC News Australia