Foreign cigarettes worth Rs 20 lakh seized by DRI in Bhopal

Bhopal: Officers of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized more than one lakh smuggled foreign-brands cigarettes sticks worth Rs 20 lakh, the DRI said on Saturday (February 6).

Acting on specific intelligence, the DRI sleuths on Thursday searched various premises in Bhopal and found more than 1 lakh foreign origin cigarette sticks of various brands like Djarum Black, Esse, Pine, Mond, and Gudang Garam.

"The cigarettes were illegally smuggled into India and the packs do not carry the cancer awareness images and pictorial warnings as mandated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare," the DRI said.

According to DRI, the goods were seized under Customs Act 1962, Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003, as amended, and Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2020.

During the investigation, it was found that these cigarettes had been smuggled into India and arrived in Bhopal via Delhi. These smuggled cigarettes are popular among the youth and are sold at the local pan shops to the trusted customers only.