Over 5.5 lakh sticks of foreign-origin cigarettes, along with alcohol and e-cigarettes worth ₹12.5 crore, were seized and destroyed recently in Tiruvallur district, Tamil Nadu by Customs due to smuggling.
Cigarette smuggling in India has seen a sharp rise, with seizures rising over 107% in volume and 110% in value between 2019-20 and 2023-24, according to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).
For FY25, experts estimate cigarette seizure values exceeding ₹600 crore, but this represents just a fraction of the illicit market.
Over 5.5 lakh sticks of foreign-origin cigarettes, along with alcohol and e-cigarettes worth ₹12.5 crore, allegedly smuggled into India, were destroyed here, the Customs department said on Wednesday.
As part of its crackdown on illegal imports, Customs recovered the consignment from neighbouring Gummidipoondi in Tiruvallur district in August 2025, a press release said.
“The estimated value of the seized contraband was about ₹12.5 crore, and it has now been destroyed,” Joint Commissioner of Customs Sadeesh Kumar K said.
The seized cigarette packets did not carry the mandatory pictorial health warnings, as required under notifications issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
“These smuggled cigarettes are sold cheaper to consumers as they are brought into the country without payment of mandatory customs duties and Goods and Services Tax (GST),” he added.
Sadeesh Kumar said smuggling syndicates often mislabel such goods as other items. “Since the illegally smuggled cigarettes and other tobacco products did not comply with statutory guidelines and health warnings, the seized items were destroyed in line with Customs rules,” he said.
