The Kakinada Division Customs officials on Sunday seized 18 lakh cigarettes worth ₹90 lakh from two vehicles on the national highway at Rajanagaram in Kakinada district.
The two vehicles were heading from Patna in Bihar State.
“In one vehicle, a total of nine lakh sticks of Paris brand cigarettes were found illegally being transported without paying customs duty. In another vehicle, another bunch of nine lakh sticks of Vimal brand cigarettes were being transported in the name of ‘damage by nature.’ However they were in a ready for consumption state,” Kakinada Division Customs Deputy Commissioner K. Vijaya Kumar said in a press release.
The two vehicles have been seized and handed over to the Goods and Service Tax (GST) authorities for further investigation.