According to intelligence received, officers from the Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate in Delhi conducted a search operation resulting in the recovery of 5,48,800 cigarette sticks of foreign origin valued at approximately Rs. 55.23 lakh. The seized cigarettes, comprising various brands like Platinum Seven, Davidoff, Dunhill, and Mond, lacked mandatory pictorial health warnings on their packets. Suspicions arise that these cigarettes were unlawfully imported or smuggled into the country, bypassing Customs Duty regulations and violating the ‘Cigarettes & other Tobacco Products (Packaging & labelling) amendment Rules, 2022’, potentially being circulated within the domestic market.
Following the investigation, one individual was apprehended under Section 104 of the Customs Act, 1962, subsequently being released on bail. Ongoing inquiries aim to further probe into the situation.