Mumbai. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), in a major operation at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) at Nhava Sheva in Mumbai, has seized around 13,000 banned e-cigarettes. The seized consignment has been valued at more than Rs 4 crore. Smugglers had tried to bring the e-cigarettes into India by concealing them in a consignment of mop rods. The operation has exposed a method of illegal import.
Goods were imported as mop rods. DRI officials had received specific intelligence that e-cigarettes had been concealed in a suspicious consignment imported at the port. In the documents, the consignment had been declared as mop rods. When officials conducted a detailed examination of the container, e-cigarettes hidden among the declared goods were recovered.
13,000 e-cigarettes of two brands recovered. The examination found 6,000 UTO Thanos and 7,000 UTO Lens brand e-cigarettes. A total of 13,000 e-cigarettes, along with the cover cargo used to conceal them, were seized under the Customs Act. According to officials, the total value of the seized goods is more than Rs 4 crore.
Seizures worth Rs 135 crore in seven months. In financial year 2026-27 so far, DRI has seized around 3.55 lakh e-cigarettes at various ports, airports and inland container depots in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi and West Bengal. Their total value is stated to be more than Rs 135 crore.
Production, import, export, sale, distribution, transport, storage and advertising of e-cigarettes have been banned in India since 2019. According to the government, such action is being taken to curb illegal smuggling and protect public health.
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