The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence recently seized 28 containers carrying 800 metric tonnes of cosmetics and dry dates worth ₹12 crore at the Nhava Sheva Port in Navi Mumbai. The containers were allegedly shipped in from Pakistan, in violation of the prohibitions imposed by the government on the import Pakistani goods after the Pahalgam terror attacks.
Following the terror attacks, on May 2, the government had imposed a complete ban on the direct or indirect import of Pakistani-origin goods to India. Following that DRI had launched ‘Operation Deep Manifest’ to intercept and seize such goods.
The dry dates and cosmetics found in this case were re-routed via the Jebel Ali Port in Dubai and were mis-declared as goods originating from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In the case of the dates, investigations revealed that a Dubai based supplier of dry dates had facilitated the shipment from Pakistan by issuing fabricated invoices. While the supplier has been arrested, the DRI has also discovered that the entire operation was orchestrated through a complex web of transactions involving Pakistani, Indian and UAE nationals, aimed at obscuring the origin of the goods.The Dubai-based supplier, an Indian national, operated on a commission basis, using his firms to disguise the trail of shipments from Pakistan.
The DRI has also arrested a customs broker (official?) for facilitating the smuggling of cosmetics by mis-declaring the country of origin.
The Mumbai branch of the DRI initiated the operation in July when it seized 39 containers carrying 1,115 metric tonnes of goods worth around 9 crore and arrested the importer behind the illegal racket.
Despite the DRI’s efforts, some importers still try to bypass the ban by mis-declaring the origin of goods and by manipulating shipping documents.