43 lakh foreign cigarettes worth Rs. 8.64 crore seized in Mizoram bust

Prelims-testable facts

• 01The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 43.2 lakh sticks of foreign-origin cigarettes valued at Rs. 8.64 crore in Mizoram.
• 02The cigarettes were intercepted while being transported towards Aizawl on the Champhai–Aizawl Road.
• 03The consignment was suspected to have been smuggled from Myanmar through the Zokhawthar sector of the Mizoram–Myanmar border.
• 04The cigarettes did not carry the mandatory pictorial and health warnings prescribed under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003.
• 05The DRI seized the cigarettes under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962.
• 06The driver of the truck was arrested in connection with the seizure.
• 07The total value of the seized cigarettes is approximately Rs. 8.64 crore.

Trap alerts

• Most people think that the DRI only seizes goods at international airports, but actually they also have the authority to seize goods at land borders, such as the one in Mizoram.
• Most people think that the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003, only regulates the advertisement of cigarettes, but actually it also regulates the trade and commerce of cigarettes.
• Most people think that the Customs Act, 1962, only deals with customs duties, but actually it also provides for the seizure of goods that are suspected to be smuggled.