Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 5: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has uncovered an alleged attempt to circumvent India's ban on imports from Pakistan by routing goods through a third country and misdeclaring their origin, seizing 364 metric tonnes of dry dates worth around Rs 3 crore at Gujarat's Kandla Port.

According to the Ministry of Finance, DRI officials intercepted 13 containers carrying the consignment after receiving specific intelligence inputs.

Though the goods were declared as products originating from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the investigation revealed that they were actually sourced from Pakistan.

Officials found that the dry dates were first transported from Pakistan to Dubai, where they were shifted to another set of containers before being shipped to India. The importers allegedly concealed the actual origin of the goods and falsely declared the country of origin to evade the prohibition on importing Pakistan-origin products.

Based on the findings, the entire consignment was seized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962.

The seizure comes days after the DRI detected another alleged attempt to import Pakistan-origin goods using forged documents.

Last week, officials intercepted around 14 metric tonnes of Guggul resin valued at about Rs 1.4 crore at Tuticorin Port. The consignment had been declared as natural resin from Somalia and routed through Dubai.

Subsequent investigations established that the shipment actually contained Guggul resin originating from Pakistan. Authorities also found that forged documents had been used to facilitate the transshipment, leading to the arrest of two persons allegedly involved in the conspiracy.

Guggul resin, obtained from the Commiphora species, is native to the arid regions of India and Pakistan. The plant is listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and is classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.