MUMBAI: Authorities have seized 20 tonnes of Chinese firecrackers, valued at ₹6.32 crore, smuggled into the Nhava Sheva Port at Navi Mumbai, after they were declared as “leggings”.
The consignment was seized by the Mumbai unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on October 5. Examination of the suspicious consignment revealed around 60,000 pieces of firecrackers concealed behind a superficial layer of leggings, DRI officials said.
The import of firecrackers is restricted under the Foreign Trade Policy and requires licences from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade and the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), under the Explosive Rules, 2008.
In a separate operation code-named “Operation Fire Trail” in July, the DRI seized 100 tonnes of Chinese fireworks, valued at ₹35 crore, from the Nhava Sheva and Mundra ports, and Kandla SEZ. The fireworks were concealed in seven containers, whose contents had been declared as mini-decorative plants, artificial flowers and plastic mats.
Gold seizure: On Sunday, 4kg of foreign-origin gold, valued at ₹4.64 crore, was seized at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International (CSMI) Airport on Sunday. Code-named “Operation Golden Sweep”, the seizure was conducted by the DRI (Mumbai). Busting a gold-smuggling syndicate, the DRI arrested four persons, including an airport employee, two handlers, and the passenger who had allegedly smuggled the gold into the country.
Investigations revealed that members of the alleged syndicate smuggled gold concealed on their persons while travelling from Niger, a West African nation, to Mumbai. On arrival, they hid the gold in the aircraft’s overhead cabin baggage compartments. An airport services employee later allegedly retrieved the gold, left the airport area, and handed it over to handlers for onward delivery through a series of intermediaries.
“Further investigation is underway to identify additional members of the syndicate and trace their transactions,” a DRI official said. Two days ago, the DRI had also seized 10.5kg of 24-karat gold valued at ₹12.58 crore, and arrested 13 persons.