Navi Mumbai: Major Cigarette Smuggling Racket Busted at Nhava Sheva Port; Cigarettes Worth Rs 6.50 Crore Seized

In a significant operation against cigarette smuggling, the Special Intelligence and Investigation Branch (Import) [(SIIB) (I)] at Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House (JNCH) has seized approximately 63 lakh sticks of the foreign brand “Platinum 7” cigarettes. The contraband, hidden in a 20-foot container falsely declared as "PP Sports Flooring" in the import documents, is estimated to be worth around Rs. 6.50 crores.

Acting on intelligence received from the Container Scanning Division at JNCH, the SIIB(I) team flagged a suspicious container for a detailed examination. Upon inspection, officers discovered approximately 63 lakh sticks of “Platinum 7” cigarettes instead of the declared “PP Sports Flooring.”

Smugglers have been using various techniques to sneak cigarettes into India. In this instance, the perpetrators declared the shipment as “PP Sports Flooring,” which produces similar images during scanning, allowing them to initially evade detection. SIIB(I), JNCH has arrested one of the masterminds behind this operation. Further investigations are underway to identify and apprehend other individuals involved in the racket.