Customs seize illegal foreign cigarettes worth Rs 14.40 lakh

NPnews24 Online Pune: The Pune Customs Department has broken a new modus operandi of illegal smuggling of foreign branded cigarettes from Ahmedabad to Pune worth of Rs 14.40 lakh. Products traded for a higher price to retailers for them to gain enormously by pushing sales of such substances.

The Customs commissioner of Pune division has recovered five cardboard boxes containing 300 cartons packed with 72000 sticks of contraband foreign-made cigarettes. This contraband was of Gudang Garam brand and was worth Rs 14.40 lakh. It was seized from the travel company based near Golibar Maidan in Camp.

Indonesian brand of cigarettes is illegally procured; during the investigation officers found that availability of international cigarettes has increased all over the country. Retailers benefit enormously by pushing sales of such foreign branded cigarettes due to higher trade margins.

Pune has appealed to citizens that those who are interested in providing genuine information on evasion of customs duty/ trafficking of drugs may contact them at 020-26051804/ 020-26051848. Any such genuine information shared will be rewarded as per government norms and conditions.