CHENNAI: Sleuths of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have seized
foreign cigarettes worth Rs 4.23 crore smuggled in here. The DRI arrested four people in this connection.
The DRI got specific intelligence that foreign origin cigarettes were being smuggled in by a syndicate in a 'calcium carbonate' import consignment after which the officers intercepted the consignment which arrived from Dubai.
The consignment was imported in three 20-foot containers. It reached Kattupalli Port, from where it was moved to a container freight station.
On examination of the consignment at the container freight station on September 27, the officers found carton boxes concealed inside the declared “calcium carbonate” bags which contained “Gudang Garam” cigarettes of Indonesian origin. A total of 30.24 lakh sticks of cigarettes were found.
The market value of the seized cigarettes is around Rs 4.23 crore. These cigarettes do not bear statutory health and pictorial warnings mandated under Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Rules, 2008.
Representative image
