Rs 7 cr worth smuggled foreign cigarettes seized

Chennai, Aug 25 (PTI) In a major haul, customs officialshere have seized foreign cigarettes worth Rs 7 crore allegedlysmuggled by declaring the cargo as plywood sheets. The seizure was made when Directorate of RevenueIntelligence (DRI) sleuths, on a tip-off, carried out thesearch of a container at a yard in New Manali near here. Ithad been sent by a Singapore-based private firm to a localimporter. The cigarettes, kept concealed under plywood sheets, wereseized under the provisions of Customs Act, 1962 and theofficials have launched a hunt to nab the importer who isabsconding, a DRI release said today. The importer — Thivya Agencies — has declared the cargoas ‘Malaysian core veneer’ plywood sheets. However, DRIofficials found 700 cartons containing seven lakh sticks ofIndonesian cigarettes ‘Djarum Black’ kept concealed under theplywood sheets. The cigarettes, worth Rs 7 crore, were systematicallyarranged in the cartons and did not contain the mandatorypictorial warning, it added. PTI VIJ VSSRY