New Delhi:
The customs preventive officials on Friday seized cigarettes worth over Rs 1.5 crore illegally brought through a COVID special train at the New Delhi railway station, officials said.
They said 10 lakh cigarette sticks of ”Special Gold Esse” and ”Super slim Esse Light” brands were packed in 100 cartons.
These cartons were recovered from a goods compartment of a COVID-19 special train coming from Varanasi to Delhi, the officials said.
Besides, around 9 lakh cigarettes of a lesser known brand and valued at around Rs 36 lakh were seized from the same train, they said.
“These were misdeclared and concealed in 38 big gunny bags,” an official said.
The total seizure is around 19 lakh cigarette sticks valued at around Rs 1.56 crore, he said.
“A person linked with the two consignments has been held and is being questioned. Further investigation is in progress,” the official said.
The customs preventive officials had on Tuesday seized 4.5 lakh cigarette sticks illegally brought in a COVID special train at old the Delhi railway station.
The cigarettes, valued at Rs 40 lakh, were seized from the goods compartment of the train.
Foreign-brand cigarettes are in demand in the country’s grey market as they are of good quality and nicely packed, the official said.
“Whereas, cigarettes produced and packed in India have to mandatorily mention specified health warning, both in pictorial and text formats, that acts as a source of discouragement for the smokers,” he added.
Further, there is a requirement of a declaration for imported cigarette packs under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011.
The declaration on the packs should contain the name and address of the manufacturer or importer or packer, quantity of the product, month and year of manufacturing or pre-packing or importation and the retail sale price, among others.
