[ad_1]
MUMBAI: The Directorate of Income Intelligence, Mumbai, has seized 1.2 crore sticks of overseas origin cigarettes with an estimated market worth of Rs 24 crore and arrested 5 individuals together with an importer for allegedly attempting to smuggle them, the DRI stated on Sunday.
These cigarettes are banned for import into India resulting from their non-compliance with Indian requirements, the DRI stated in a launch.
Primarily based on particular intelligence, the contraband was seized from a container that was speculated to be trans-shipped to Arshiya Free Commerce Warehousing Zone (FTWZ) for additional clearance, it stated.
The DRI officers maintained a discrete vigil on the container’s motion.
It was discovered that after the container left the Nhava Sheva Port in Navi Mumbai, as an alternative of reaching its vacation spot, the identical was diverted to a non-public godown whereas it was en path to Arshiya FTWZ.
The DRI officers then intercepted the container on the godown, the discharge stated.
Your entire 40-feet container was discovered to be full of foreign-origin cigarettes that are banned for import into India resulting from their non-compliance with Indian requirements, it stated.
The syndicate had deliberate to smuggle the cigarettes by eradicating them from the container and changing the identical with items declared in import paperwork with the intention to hoodwink customs authorities, the discharge stated.
The godown was already stocked with the declared items which have been speculated to be stuffed within the container after eradicating the cigarettes earlier than the container was taken into Arshiya FTZ.
A complete of 1.07 crore sticks of foreign-origin cigarettes of varied manufacturers have been recovered from the container, the DRI stated.
In a swift follow-up operation, one other stash of 13 lakh cigarettes of overseas origin which have been smuggled earlier by the identical syndicate was seized from one other godown, the discharge added.
[ad_2]
Source link
