Cigarettes worth Rs 30L about to get shipped to London seized by Mumbai customs officials

At least 4 lakh cigarettes at an estimated worth of Rs 30 lakh were seized by Mumbai Customs Officers at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on January 5. 

In export shipments that were supposed to be sent to London, a total of 2,000 undeclared cigarette cartons were held.

The customs officials said, "On 5th January, Mumbai Customs Officers at Courier Cell seized 4 lakh cigarette sticks valued at Rs 30 Lakhs. A total of 2,000 undeclared cigarette cartons were found mixed in export shipments destined for London. Further investigation is going on."

As per reports, Mumbai Customs Department received intelligence input that cigarettes were getting smuggled in an inappropriate manner through export shipments.

According to customs officials, the 4 lakh cigarettes that were packed in 2,000 cartons were seized under section 110 of the Customs Act. They also said that this was a punishable offence under various sections of the Customs Act and further investigation has been underway.

Similar incident at Mumbai airport of cigarette seizure in 2022

 In a similar incident, last year the Air Intelligence Unit of the Mumbai Airport Customs thwarted three smuggling attempts in three different cases in which passengers tried smuggling cigarettes, iPhones and gold of an estimated value of Rs 46 lakh.

As per the officials, two passengers were held while carrying 19 iPhone 14 Pro (256 GB) along with cigars and cigarette cartons having an estimated value of Rs 27.89 lakh from Dubai.