DRI seizes China-made fire crackers worth Rs 9 cr

The goods, kept at a depot in Tughlaqabad, were wrongly declared as medical and bicycle equipment

In a major seizure ahead of Diwali festivities, China-made fire crackers worth Rs nine crore have been seized by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at New Delhi.

The illegally imported fire crackers were seized yesterday, on Ocotber 8, at the Inland Container Depot in Tughlaqabad area.

The goods were wrongly declared as medical and bicycle equipment, said Debi Prasad Dash, Principal Additional Director General of the DRI.

The market value of the seized fire crackers, which are of different brands including 'Leopard King' and 'Pop Pop Snappers', is around Rs nine crore, he said on October 9.

As per exisiting norms, the import of fire crackers is restricted and can be imported only after a license is issued by the Chief Controller of Explosives.

During examination of the six containers, DRI officers found bicycle parts such as saddles, iron baskets, steel wheel chairs, commode wheel chairs, walking sticks that were kept in front of the cartons containing fire crackers in order to escape easy detection by customs officers.

The fire crackers had been allegedly imported by a Punjab-based individual using a dummy import-export code using a Delhi-based customs broker as a fellow conspirator, both of whom wer arrested today, Dash said.

Considering the greivous impact of smuggled fire crackers on the health of people and their hazardous effect on the environment, DRI has increased surveillance to check such illegal smuggling.

Delhi Zonal Unit of the DRI has seized eight containers of fire crackers worth around Rs 11 crore so far.

Another senior DRI official said that smugglers are using new modes to dodge authorities including the illegal import Chinese fire crackers that do not have labels reading 'Made in China' on them.