At Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Nhava Sheva, customs officers have intercepted and seized a sizable shipment of cigarettes manufactured abroad. The Special Intelligence and Investigation Branch (SIIB) thwarted the smuggling attempt at the Jawaharlal Nehru Customs House (JNCH).

Officials discovered that the 40-foot container, which had been fraudulently identified as gypsum plasterboard, was actually containing 57.02 lakh sticks of imported cigarettes, which had a market worth of around Rs 11.40 crore. The consignment was going to ICD Sanathnagar, Hyderabad, and it was coming from Dubai.

On September 8, after a normal inspection and scanning, authorities found the contraband within the container, ingeniously hidden amongst 18 pallets. To escape discovery, traffickers concealed about 400 cartons of cigarettes in holes within the gypsum plaster boards.

"This operation highlights the heightened vigilance of customs officials, as the concealed contraband could only be discovered through a meticulous inspection. By using construction materials like gypsum plaster boards, the smugglers aimed to exploit the high volume and weight of legitimate shipments to evade scrutiny," according to the source.

Customs officials also conducted searches at several sites in Navi Mumbai as part of their crackdown on smuggling. Further inquiries into the situation are now underway.