BENGALURU: Customs officials seized 78 cartons containing 7.8 lakh contraband cigarette sticks worth Rs 1.5 crore that were being smuggled into the city on Tuesday night.
Based on intelligence inputs, customs officials swooped down on a leased luggage compartment of
Karnataka Express coming from Delhi at Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna railway station.
About 26 suspicious parcels marked as ‘WIN’ were seized and they were found to be carrying contraband cigarette sticks.
Sources said Bengaluru is a major hub for
contraband cigarettes and trains are the easiest mode of transporting them. Customs officials said smugglers lease containers on goods trains to escape scrutiny.