Directorate of Revenue Intelligence officials on Tuesday seized about 400 packets of foreign-made cigarettes worth Rs 12 lakhs at the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) here and detained two passengers in this connection for questioning.
According to reports, the two passengers of an AirAsia flight were carrying the cigarettes illegally from Kuala Lumpur to Kolkata. Both detainees were identified as businessmen of Kolkata.
This was for the first time that smuggling of such a large quantity of cigarettes was detected in the city airport. Several passengers smuggling gold, mainly via Kuala Lumpur had been apprehended at the BPIA in the recent past on different occasions.