HYDERABAD: The officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) here on Tuesday arrested six persons involved in smuggling of foreign make cigarettes valued at `1.4 cr via Air Cargo Complex at Shamshabad RGI Airport.
Acting on specific intelligence, officials had seized a total quantity of 8.5 lakh cigarettes of ‘Djarum Black’ cigarette brand, valued at `51 lakh on October 13. Further investigations revealed that certain unscrupulous persons had hatched a conspiracy to smuggle foreign made cigarettes from Dubai in the guise of engineering goods, paper machines spares, computer parts etc consigned to fictitious companies.
The said persons, an official release said, conspired to create fake ID cards, authorisation letters etc in the name of fictitious companies and also created fake manual bills of entry by forging the endorsement and signatures of officers of customs department, thus managing to smuggle out the cigarettes.
Officials maintained that the group has already managed to smuggle out as many as five consignments of the said cigarette brand via RGIA. The value of so cleared cigarettes is said to be approximately `90 lakh. The six accused were produced before the special judge for economic offences and remanded to judicial custody.