Cigarettes valued Rs. 69,08,000!
Guwahati: On Tuesday, The Customs department seized 4,93,400 sticks of foreign cigarettes valued at ? 98.68 lakh in Guwahati through two search operations.
Based on specific intelligence gathered regarding the transportation of smuggled cigarettes of foreign origin through couriers, the Customs department, received information that a consignment of cigarettes of foreign origin had been booked at Blue Dart Express Ltd., located near the junction of Zoo Road and Ambikagiri Nagar.
"A custom team immediately proceeded to the said location and identified the specific consignment containing the cigarette packages as per the AWB number received.
A total of 5 packages had been booked under the said AWB and on checking the contents of each package, the customs officers detected cigarettes of foreign origin viz., WIN and ESSE LIGHT brands of Chinese and Korean origin.
A total of 1,48,000 sticks of foreign origin cigarettes valued at ? 29,60,000 was recovered and seized in the instant case," a senior official of the Customs department said.
He further said that the contents of all the packages had been declared as "Damaged Fabric Garments".
"Further, after the detection of the first case, fresh information was received that a vehicle containing a huge consignment of smuggled foreign cigarettes was approaching the immediate area of Blue Dart Express Ltd., located near the junction of Zoo Road and Ambikagiri Nagar and the consignment of cigarettes was meant to be unloaded at Blue Dart Express Ltd, the officials said.
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