Bhubaneswar: The directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) detained three passengers from Mumbai on specific intelligence inputs after they arrived at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar from Dubai on Tuesday.
This followed the recovery of a large quantity of undeclared goods, including 38,400 cigarettes, 4,000 cigars, and 1,228 e-cigarette cartridges, in their checked-in baggage. Six DJI MIC Mini wireless microphones and ten refurbished Dell Latitude laptops were also seized.
While the total value of the seized items is estimated at around Rs 27 lakh, sources said that those detained were planning onward journey to Mumbai by road after arriving in Bhubaneswar. It is being suspected that the seized goods were being smuggled into the country to evade customs duty and were to be later sold in the local market.
The recovered items have been handed over to the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Bhubaneswar Customs for further investigation.
On October 4, the Customs department had seized marijuana worth around Rs 3 crore while allegedly being smuggled into the city from Bangkok and detained a youth at the Bhubaneswar Airport. Last month, 50,000 sticks of smuggled foreign-origin cigarettes worth around Rs 8 lakh were seized from a 63-year-old passenger who had arrived from Dubai, and was planning to board a train to Delhi to supply the 58-kg cigarettes in the national capital.
In July, around 50 kg hydroponic weed worth over Rs 30 crore was seized from three persons from Uttar Pradesh at the airport.