DRI seizes 3,00,000 electronic cigarettes/vapes worth Rs. 120 crore in a major crackdown on e-cigarette smuggling racket across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi and West Bengal

Posted On: 21 MAY 2026 1:49PM by PIB Delhi In a major crackdown against illegal import of prohibited nicotine products, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted a large-scale e-cigarette (vape) smuggling racket in its operations across several ports, airports and ICDs in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi and West Bengal in last few days. Acting on specific intelligence, DRI identified, tracked and intercepted multiple suspicious import consignments that were mis-declared to evade customs scrutiny. Detailed examination led to the seizure of nearly 3,00,000 electronic cigarettes/vapes of various brands, flavours and specifications valued at more than Rs 120 crore. These prohibited e-cigarettes were found to be sourced from China in every instance and imported in concealment in the items such as such as &ldquo;Furniture&rdquo; and &ldquo;Metal Chair Parts&rdquo;. Electronic cigarettes and all Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) are prohibited in India under the the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Act, 2019, enacted in the interest of public health and to protect people from harm. **** NB/KMN (Release ID: 2263644) Visitor Counter : 3753 Read this release in: Gujarati , Urdu , हिन्दी , Marathi , Bengali , Bengali-TR , Punjabi , Tamil , Telugu Ministry of Finance DRI seizes 3,00,000 electronic cigarettes/vapes worth Rs. 120 crore in a major crackdown on e-cigarette smuggling racket across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi and West Bengal Posted On: 21 MAY 2026 1:49PM by PIB Delhi In a major crackdown against illegal import of prohibited nicotine products, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted a large-scale e-cigarette (vape) smuggling racket in its operations across several ports, airports and ICDs in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi and West Bengal in last few days. Acting on specific intelligence, DRI identified, tracked and intercepted multiple suspicious import consignments that were mis-declared to evade customs scrutiny. Detailed examination led to the seizure of nearly 3,00,000 electronic cigarettes/vapes of various brands, flavours and specifications valued at more than Rs 120 crore. These prohibited e-cigarettes were found to be sourced from China in every instance and imported in concealment in the items such as such as &ldquo;Furniture&rdquo; and &ldquo;Metal Chair Parts&rdquo;. Electronic cigarettes and all Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) are prohibited in India under the the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Act, 2019, enacted in the interest of public health and to protect people from harm. **** NB/KMN (Release ID: 2263644) <span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><span style="font-size:16px">In a major crackdown against illegal import of prohibited nicotine products, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted a large-scale e-cigarette (vape) smuggling racket in its operations across several ports, airports and ICDs in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi and West Bengal in last few days.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align:center"><img alt="" src="https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/userfiles/image/image001AK8F.jpg" />&nbsp;&nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/userfiles/image/image00251SJ.jpg" /></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size:16px">Acting on specific intelligence, DRI identified, tracked and intercepted multiple suspicious &nbsp;import consignments that were mis-declared to evade customs scrutiny. Detailed examination led to the seizure of nearly 3,00,000 electronic cigarettes/vapes of various brands, flavours and specifications valued at more than Rs 120 crore.</span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size:16px">These prohibited e-cigarettes were found to be sourced from China in every instance and imported in concealment in the items such as such as &ldquo;Furniture&rdquo; and &ldquo;Metal Chair Parts&rdquo;.</span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><span style="font-size:16px">Electronic cigarettes and all Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) are prohibited in India under the the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Act, 2019, enacted in the interest of public health and to protect people from harm.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><span style="font-size:16px">****</span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><strong><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><span style="font-size:16px">NB/KMN</span></span></strong></p> " /> var mPlayer = document.getElementById("background_music"); 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