DRI seizes 300,000 smuggled e-cigarettes worth ₹120 crore across 4 states

The Ministry of Finance said all the prohibited e-cigarettes were sourced from China and were concealed inside consignments labelled as other goods to avoid detection

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized nearly 300,000 electronic cigarettes valued at over ₹120 crore in a large-scale crackdown on a smuggling network spread across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi and West Bengal.

 

According to the Ministry of Finance, the operation was carried out over the past few days across ports, airports and Inland Container Depots (ICDs) to stop the illegal import of banned nicotine products into India.

 

Shipments tracked through intelligence inputs

 

The DRI, which functions under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), launched the operation after receiving specific intelligence inputs about suspicious import consignments. The ministry said officials tracked multiple shipments routed through the customs network using false declarations.

 

 

“Acting on specific intelligence, DRI identified, tracked and intercepted multiple suspicious import consignments that were mis-declared to evade customs scrutiny,” the finance ministry said.

 

A detailed examination of the consignments led to the recovery of e-cigarettes of different brands, flavours and specifications.

 

Goods sourced from China

 

Investigators also traced the smuggling syndicate's supply chain and found a common origin for the seized products.

 

According to the ministry, all the prohibited e-cigarettes were sourced from China and concealed inside consignments labelled as other goods to avoid detection.

 

“These prohibited e-cigarettes were found to be sourced from China in every instance and imported in concealment in items such as ‘furniture’ and ‘metal chair parts’,” the ministry stated.

 

E-cigarettes remain banned in India

 

India has imposed a strict ban on electronic cigarettes and all Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) under the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act, 2019.

 

The law prohibits the production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement of e-cigarettes in the country.