Cigarettes worth Rs 6.92 crore seized

Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Friday seized banned Indonesian cigarettes “GudangGaram” worth Rs 6.92 crore from Bhiwandi near Mumbai.

This is the first seizure of cigarettes, based on specific intelligence, including a massive 69.26 lakh sticks that were to be sent to Gulf countries but were smuggled to India. The seizure was carried out from a residential flat and a commercial godown in Bhiwandi.

A DRI officer said, “The seized brand of cigarettes is made of crushed clove, clove oil and tobacco, which lends a unique clove flavour. This, combined with absence of pictorial warnings covering 85 per cent of the surface of cigarette packets, which is mandatory as per the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003, makes users believe that they are smoking much safer cigarettes as compared to Indian brands.”