Foreign cigarette worth over Rs 4.75 cr seized in Mumbai

Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Sunday intercepted and seized 21,60,000 cigarette sticks of foreign origin worth over Rs 4.75 crores at a Container Freight Station (CFS) near Nhava Sheva Port in Mumbai.

"Specific intelligence was received by officers of the DRI, Mumbai, that a large number of cigarettes of foreign origin was being attempted to be smuggled into India in an import consignment arriving from Dubai. Hence, the DRI officers identified the suspected consignment and intercepted it at a CFS near Nhava Sheva Port," read the official statement by the DRI.

"The examination of the said Import consignment was done under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 which resulted in the recovery of cigarettes of foreign origin. A total of 21,60,000 cigarette sticks of smuggled cigarettes, valued at Rs 4,75,20,000, were seized," the statement added.

An investigation by the DRI had revealed that the consignment was imported using the Importer Exporter Code (IEC), which had been obtained by misusing Know Your Customer (KYC) documents.

No arrest has been made so far but the DRI has some leads about the persons involved in this smuggling racket.

( With inputs from ANI )