Revenue Intelligence Directorate (DRI) continued its crackdown on illegal trade, seizing more than 55,000 smuggled e‑cigarettes at Kolkata’s Shyam Prasad Mukherjee Port on 24 October 2026
DRI officials seized two containers bound for Nepal on the basis of specific intelligence, suspected of carrying e‑cigarettes. One container was misdeclared as “water glasses” and the other as “clay mugs”. A detailed inspection of the first container uncovered 40,000 e‑cigarettes of various IGIT brand flavours hidden among the declared goods. The second container yielded about 15,000 e‑cigarettes of brands such as VTV, Voco, Bang and Ejoy, also concealed within the declared cargo
Under the relevant provisions of the Customs Act, a total of about 55,000 e‑cigarettes were seized along with covered cargo, valued at ₹13.50 crore
In India, electronic cigarettes and all electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) are prohibited under the Electronic Cigarettes Prohibition (Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertising) Act, 2019, for public health and to protect people from harm
In the current financial year 2026‑27, DRI has seized about 300,000 e‑cigarettes at various ports, airports and Information and Control Centres (ICDs) in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi and West Bengal, worth more than ₹120 crore