DRI Foils Cigarette Smuggling Attempt at Jawaharlal Nehru Port

In a significant operation led by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), a 40-feet refrigerated container arriving at Jawaharlal Nehru Port was intercepted and held at a Container Freight Station (CFS) in Nhava Sheva.

Acting on intelligence developed by the DRI, a meticulous examination of the container uncovered a sophisticated smuggling attempt. Cigarette cartons, totaling 33,92,000 sticks with an estimated market value of approximately Rs 5.77 crores, were ingeniously concealed within cardboard boxes ostensibly filled with tamarind.

The smugglers had gone to great lengths to conceal the illicit cargo by placing cigarette cartons inside the tamarind boxes and expertly covering them from all sides with tamarind. This strategic concealment aimed to render the cigarette cartons virtually undetectable, even upon opening the seemingly innocent cardboard boxes.