Customs officials in Andhra’s Vijayawada seize foreign cigarettes worth Rs 8 crore
India Today
Vijayawada customs officials on Tuesday seized foreign cigarettes worth Rs 8 crore which were smuggled into the city.
The officers of Customs Commissionerate (Preventive), Vijayawada on Tuesday seized 80,40,000 Paris-brand cigarettes which were worth approximately Rs 8 crore. The cigarettes were boxed in 804 cartons.
Two lorries with a Tamil Nadu registration number and a Bihar registration were intercepted by the officers after receiving information about the smuggling of foreign branded cigarettes into Vijayawada. The lorry with a Tamil Nadu registration was intercepted at Kesarapalli on NH-16 and the lorry with a Bihar registration was intercepted on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad highway.
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On inspection, it was found that both vehicles were each loaded with 134 high-density polyethylene (HDPE) sacks containing smuggled goods stitched from the top. On questioning, the drivers revealed that the vehicles started from Patna, Bihar and they drove them to Vijayawada as per the instructions of a booking agent. They stated that they were not aware of the contents of the packages booked for delivery.
A search of the intercepted lorries resulted in the seizure of 80,40,000 Paris-branded cigarettes packed in 804 cartons under the Customs Act,1962. The total value of the cigarettes seized is approximately about Rs 8 crore.
This is the highest-ever seizure of smuggled foreign cigarettes reported by the Customs Commissionerate (Preventive), Vijayawada since its formation in 2014.
