DRI seizes smuggled cigarettes worth ₹14.67 crore from JNPT port

Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) ‘s Mumbai Zonal Unit seized smuggled imported cigarettes worth ₹14

Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) ‘s Mumbai Zonal Unit seized smuggled imported cigarettes worth ₹14.67 crore at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port,(JNPT) also known as Nhava Sheva Port in Navi Mumbai recently.

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The seized cigarettes, 86.30 lakh in all, were found allegedly concealed inside a 40-feet container that had arrived at one of the Container Freight Stations (CFS) of the Nhava Sheva port on December 4, when it was intercepted by the DRI team.

The container was examined the next day, and it was found packed with cigarettes instead of the item as allegedly mis-declared in the shipping documents by those who had exported it, the sources said.

The seizure was made based on specific intelligence received by the DRI’s MZU team, the sources said. DRI sources said that it is suspected that the cigarettes were meant to be pilfered but the timely intervention of the agency thwarted any such criminal design of those who had smuggled the consignment, sources said.

The smuggling bid was allegedly meant to avoid paying the higher rate of duty imposed by the government on the import of tobacco-based products and comply with associated regulations, the sources said. “Since smoking cigarettes has a deleterious effect on the health of the citizens and burdens the health infrastructure of the country, the government imposes a higher rate of duty on such goods,” said a DRI source. “To evade the duty and the compliance with regulations related to the import of tobacco-related products, the corrupt often indulge in nefarious activities, like smuggling of such items,”.

The cigarettes were seized under the relevant provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. The agency’s scanner those who related to the alleged smuggling bid, the sources said.