Mumbai Crime:Rs 1.1 crore worth smuggled cigarettes seized at Kalbadevi

Reportedly, the 60 cartons consisted of 6,73,120 cigarettes of various brands such as Benson &Hedges, Gudang Garam, Marlboro, 555, Paris etc

Mumbai Crime:Rs 1.1 crore worth smuggled cigarettes seized at Kalbadevi

Cartons of Cigarettes seized during the raid

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Sunday recovered illegal Cigarettes of foreign origin worth Rs 1.01 crores from Cargo courier company at Chira Bazar Mumbai. The raid was conducted after receiving a tip-off from informers.

DRI MZU officers seized 60 cartons of Cigarettes of foreign origin under the Customs Act. Reportedly, the 60 cartons consisted of 6,73,120 cigarettes of various brands such as Benson &Hedges, Gudang Garam, Marlboro, 555, Paris etc.

Following the raid, Bipin Singh, Owner of the cargo company was arrested and produced him at a court in Mumbai, where Singh has been sentenced to judicial custody till June 25th for investigation.

In another incident, officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 1121.5 kilograms of cannabis, valued around Rs 1 crore 68 lakhs, from a Sholapur-bound truck in Hyderabad. Officials intercepted the truck at Panthangi Toll Plaza on Vijayawada-Hyderabad National Highway.

After searching the vehicle, officials found 546 high-density polyethylene (HDPE) packages wrapped with biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) self-adhesive tape weighing more than a ton of Cannabis, also known as Ganja. The said Narcotic drug and the truck which was used for concealment and transportation of the contraband was seized under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

DRI officials have also arrested three persons, including the mastermind in the case.

In a similar incident that took place in April 2019, a Russian couple was arrested for allegedly growing and possessing cannabis plants by the Crime Branch of the state police.

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"Grigorii Fomenko, 32, and his wife Viktoriia Fomenko, 29, were arrested from their rented premises in Siolim Anjuna. They were growing cannabis plants in flower pots," said Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch, Pankaj Kumar Singh.

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In a raid conducted on their rented premises, the police seized 118 gm ganja, 380 gm stem of cannabis and other proscribed material, he said. The couple had arrived in India in November last year on a tourist visa, which was valid up to April 18, 2019.