VIJAYAWADA: Customs Commissionerate (Preventive)-Vijayawada on Tuesday seized 80 lakh foreign-origin cigarettes worth Rs 8 crore. This is the highest-ever seizure of smuggled foreign cigarettes by the Vijayawada Customs since its inception in 2014. The contraband was being smuggled from Bihar in two trucks.
According to a press release issued by the Customs Commissionerate, after receipt of a tip-off about the smuggling of foreign brand cigarettes into Vijayawada in two trucks, the customs officials intercepted a truck with Tamil Nadu registration at Kesarpalli on Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam National Highway (NH-16) in the early hours of Tuesday.
Upon receiving the intelligence on a similar modus operandi, another team proceeded to the Vijayawada-Hyderabad road and intercepted a truck with Bihar registration. On inspection, it was found that both vehicles were loaded with 134 high-density polyethene (HDPE) sacks containing smuggled goods.
On questioning, the driver revealed that the loaded vehicles started from Patna in Bihar and they drove it to Vijayawada as per the instruction of the booking agent. They stated that they are not aware of the contents of the packages booked for the deliveries.
A search of intercepted trucks resulted in the seizure of 80,40,000 Paris brand cigarettes packed in 804 cartons. Smuggling foreign cigarettes is a lucrative business for black marketers. Further, the cigarettes do not have pictorial warnings as per the Prohibition of advertisements and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution Act, 2003.