2 held; cigarettes valued at Rs 1.5 crore seized from Bihar's Muzaffarpur

Patna, Dec 25 (IANS) The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested two persons and seized a major consignment of foreign cigarettes on Wednesday, officials said.

The seized item is valued at Rs 1.5 crore in the international market.

DRI received specific intelligence about the smuggling of cigarettes from Myanmar.

Accordingly, they have laid a trap at the Gaighat toll plaza on National Highway 57.

"As soon as the two individuals, travelling on a container, reached the Gaighat toll plaza, we surrounded the container and arrested them. They were travelling in a Haryana-registered container vehicle," said a DRI official.

When we thoroughly checked the container, we found that the cigarette consignment, manufactured in Myanmar, had been recovered.

The cigarettes were concealed amid bamboo loaded in the container.

The substance originated from Myanmar and entered Indian territory via the Arunachal Pradesh's border. During questioning, they disclosed details of the consignment and its route.

The consignment was being transported from Guwahati, Assam, and was destined for Delhi.

Both individuals are drivers and helpers of the truck and are natives of Moradabad district, Uttar Pradesh.

The DRI officials, acting on specific intelligence, laid a trap at the Gaighat toll plaza on National Highway 57.

The DRI team is actively investigating the case, focusing on both the backward linkage (origin and production of the substance) and forward linkage (intended distribution network).

Further details are being collected to dismantle the larger network involved in this illegal trade.

The DRI's thorough follow-up investigation could potentially expose a significant trafficking network and cross-border smuggling.

Earlier on December 21, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) successfully conducted a significant operation in Muzaffarpur resulting in the arrest of an individual and the seizure of 2 kg of morphine on Saturday.

The value of the seized item is nearly Rs 5 crore in the international market.

The high-value substance had been smuggled into Muzaffarpur from Myanmar.

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