DRI seizes foreign cigarettes worth Rs 14 crore in North East India

DRI seized 71 lakh foreign cigarettes worth Rs 14 crore in the North Eastern Region, arresting 4 people. In Mizoram, 45 lakh sticks were seized on June 11 with the help of Assam Rifles. The cigarettes were smuggled from Myanmar.

In a major crackdown against smuggling of foreign origin cigarettes, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) carried out multiple coordinated operations in the North Eastern Region. Since May 2026, operations conducted by DRI have led to a total seizure of about 71,00,000 sticks of foreign-origin smuggled cigarettes across the North Eastern Region, valued cumulatively at approximately Rs 14 crore, along with the arrest of 4 persons, according to a release.

Major Seizure in Mizoram

Among major operations, DRI seized more than 45 lakh sticks of foreign-origin cigarettes in Mizoram on June 11. This operation was carried out with the assistance of the 34th Battalion, Assam Rifles. One person has been arrested in the case.

Preliminary investigation indicates that the cigarettes were smuggled into the country from Myanmar through the Zokhawthar sector along the Indo-Myanmar border. In a series of operations in the last few weeks, another 26 lakh such cigarettes have been seized, and 3 persons have been arrested. (ANI)

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