DRI seizes foreign-origin cigarettes worth ₹24 crore; 5 arrested

The agency denied revealing the names of the accused as they are still carrying out the operation to bust such illegal rackets.

Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested five people on Sunday for allegedly trying to smuggle illegal foreign-origin cigarettes worth ₹24 crore. The agency seized the entire contraband at the Nhava Sheva Port.

The agency acted on a tip-off and identified a container which was allegedly carrying the contraband and monitored it for several days, a DRI officer said, adding, “The container was supposed to be trans-shipped to Arshiya Free Trade Warehousing Zone (FTWZ) at Panvel for further clearance. However, after it left the port, instead of reaching its destination, it was diverted to a private godown.” (HT PHOTO)

The agency denied revealing the names of the accused as they are still carrying out the operation to bust such illegal rackets.

The agency acted on a tip-off and identified a container which was allegedly carrying the contraband and monitored it for several days, a DRI officer said, adding, “The container was supposed to be trans-shipped to Arshiya Free Trade Warehousing Zone (FTWZ) at Panvel for further clearance. However, after it left the port, instead of reaching its destination, it was diverted to a private godown.”

The DRI official found it suspicious and intercepted the container at the godown, added the officer.

“During the check, a total of 1.07 crore sticks of foreign origin cigarettes of different brands like Esse, Dunhill, Mond and Gudang Garam were recovered from the container,” said the officer. “Few people connected to the matter were questioned and in a follow-up operation, another consignment of 13 lakh foreign-origin cigarettes of various brands which were smuggled earlier by the same syndicate were seized from another godown.”

These foreign-origin cigarettes are banned for import into the country due to their non-compliance with Indian standards, said the officer, adding, “The syndicate had planned to remove the illegal cigarettes and replace them with goods declared in import documents before the container was taken into Arshiya FTZ to dupe customs authorities.”

“DRI has been constantly working against the smuggling syndicates which smuggle contraband and misuse SEZ and FTWZ schemes. The agency is working to protect government revenue and also protect society from the harmful effects of illicit tobacco,” added the DRI officer.