CHENNAI: As anti-smuggling and drug drives pick up gravity in the city, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI)'s city unit has made a massive seizure of illegally imported cigarettes valued at approximately Rs 18.2 crore in a huge blow to criminal networks.

The DRI officers targeted a shipping container arriving at the J-Matadee Free Trade and Warehousing Zone (FTWZ) on June 23 (Monday), based on precise intelligence. The information indicated that the contraband was concealed in a container that was apparently listed as carrying "Bathroom and sanitary fittings" from Dubai.

A detailed examination led to the discovery that the container's contents were grossly misstated, as the officials found 92.1 lakh cigarettes of different brands instead of bathroom fixtures. The cigarettes were from brands, including 'Manchester United Kingdom', 'Manchester United Kingdom Special Edition', and 'Mac Ice Superslims Cool Blast'.

Smuggling aside, the seized foreign cigarettes violate the Indian public health regulations. They fail to comply with the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, specifically lacking the mandatory statutory health warnings on their packaging.

The entire consignment, worth Rs 18.2 crore, was seized by the officials of the DRI under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. A thorough investigation is now under way to trace the nexus involved in the smuggling.

In the past year, the agency has seized a whopping 4.4 crore sticks of smuggled foreign and counterfeit cigarettes in Chennai, valuing approximately Rs. 79.67 crore.