Law enforcement authorities have seized more than 362 metric tonne of Pakistan-origin dry dates and thwarted attempts to circumvent India’s prohibition on imports from the neighbouring country, the finance ministry said on Monday, 14 September.
Acting on specific intelligence, the officers of the (DRI) intercepted 13 containers of dry dates imported by a Mumbai-based firm at Container Freight Station (CFS) Ambad, Nashik, a press statement form the ministry said.
The consignments arrived from Jebel Ali, UAE, with import documents declaring the UAE as the country of origin.
Preliminary investigation revealed a trans-shipment arrangement designed to conceal the Pakistan origin of the goods. The dry dates were initially shipped from Karachi Port, Pakistan, to , in one set of containers aboard one vessel, the statement said.
At Jebel Ali Port, the goods were merely trans-shipped and transferred to another set of containers and loaded onto a different vessel for onward shipment to India through entities operated by Pakistani nationals.
Following the Pahalgam terror attack, India has imposed a complete prohibition on the direct or indirect import or transit of all goods originating in or exported from Pakistan, with effect from May 2, 2025.
In response, DRI, under ‘Operation Deep Manifest’, has been consistently identifying, intercepting and seizing attempted to be imported into India through third-country routing.
(With ageny inputs)
