Manipur: Foreign tobacco worth Rs 1.9 cr seized; two Bihar smugglers arrested

Imphal: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) apprehended two non-locals on charges of smuggling foreign tobacco items worth over Rs 1.92 crore in the international market during the past 47 hours, officials said on Wednesday.

Officials stated that, acting on a tip from various sources across the border that some smugglers from mainland India had contacted their counterparts in the border areas of Manipur, a team from the DRI, under the leadership of a Senior Intelligence Officer, remained on high alert in the Imphal area.

During the flash operation, the DRI team detained two suspects: Dhamveer Kumar (27), son of Baudhu Yadav, and Pandav Kumar (20), son of Ram Kumar Yadav, both residents of Begusarai, Bihar. Following their disclosure, a loaded Tata truck bearing a Bihar registration number, parked at Mantripukhri near the NRL petrol pump on NH 102, was located.

During further interrogation, truck driver Dhamveer Kumar admitted that 40–50 cartons of foreign-origin cigarettes were concealed among the vehicle’s load, which was scheduled to be transported from Imphal to Bihar. The illegal items had been smuggled into the state from Myanmar through Moreh in Manipur.

The team’s further search operation led to the recovery of 69 cartons of Esse Lights brand cigarettes of Korean origin and 15 cartons of Gudang Garam cigarettes of Indonesian origin from the vehicle.

The accused were formally arrested on charges of evading Indian customs laws and smuggling contraband cigarettes, in contravention of Section 7(1)(c) and Section 11 of the Customs Act, 1962. Officials added that the arrestees and the seized items were later handed over to the competent authorities for further legal proceedings.