Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized 28 containers carrying 800 metric tonnes of Pakistan-origin dry dates and cosmetics, valued at Rs 12 crore, from Nhava Sheva port. Two people, including a Dubai-based supplier and a customs broker, have been arrested in connection with the smuggling attempt.
Operation Deep Manifest Targets Illicit Imports
The action was part of “Operation Deep Manifest,” launched in July after the Centre imposed a blanket ban on the direct or indirect import of Pakistani-origin goods on May 2, 2025, following the Pahalgam terror attack. Since then, DRI has flagged multiple attempts by syndicates to skirt the curbs by falsifying country-of-origin certificates and misdeclaring shipping documents.
DRI seizes 28 containers of Pakistan-origin dry dates and cosmetics at Nhava Sheva port worth Rs 12 crore; two arrested | File Photo
Investigation Reveals False Declarations
According to the DRI investigation, the seized consignments of cosmetics and dry dates were routed through Jebel Ali port in Dubai and falsely declared as UAE-origin to bypass restrictions. Investigation confirmed the shipments had actually originated from Pakistan.
Arrests and Modus Operandi
In the case of dry dates, DRI found that a Dubai-based supplier, an Indian national, had facilitated transhipment by issuing fabricated invoices. He allegedly operated on commission, using his firms to conceal the trail of goods and financial flows between India and Pakistan. In the cosmetics consignment, a customs broker was arrested for allegedly facilitating the misdeclaration of origin, officials said.
DRI seizes 28 containers of Pakistan-origin dry dates and cosmetics at Nhava Sheva port worth Rs 12 crore; two arrested | File Photo
Previous Seizures and National Security Concern
This is the second major seizure under Operation Deep Manifest. In July, DRI Mumbai had intercepted 39 containers carrying over 1,100 metric tonnes of goods worth about Rs 9 crore, and arrested the importer involved.
Officials said the network behind these consignments involved Pakistani, Indian and UAE nationals, who created a complex web of transactions to conceal the goods’ true origin. They added that such illicit imports, with financial linkages to entities controlled by Pakistani nationals in Dubai and Pakistan, pose a “serious threat to national security.”
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Commitment to Safeguarding Trade Channels
The agency said Operation Deep Manifest reflects its “commitment to upholding the government’s policy and safeguarding the country’s national and economic security by preventing the misuse of trade channels.”
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