NEW DELHI: Cigarettes of foreign brands worth Rs 15 crore have been seized by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials on the new year eve from Inland Container Depot, Tughlakabad near here.
About 1.52 crore cigarette sticks, which have been seized, were of mixed brands including Mond of UAE origin, and Indonesia-made Djarum Black and Gudang Garam brands.
“These were attempted to be smuggled into the country by being misdeclared as disposable cups,” a press release issued today by the DRI said.
These cigarettes were imported from United Arab Emirates, it said, adding that the value of the cigarettes is estimated to be Rs 15.28 crore.
Last year, the DRI had seized cigarettes of foreign brands worth Rs 56 crore. This included one of the biggest seizures of 2.39 crore cigarettes with local market value of over Rs 24 crore at Special Economic Zone, Moradabad and JNPT, Nhava Sheva, the release said.
Smuggling of foreign cigarettes is often mentioned as one of the factors impacting the domestic manufacturers. Moreover, those smuggled foreign cigarettes do not bear statutory health warning, it said.
“Further investigation is on to apprehend those concerned,” the release said.
