Smuggling of 50 lakh onions abroad in the guise of tomatoes

Mumbai: The Special Investigation and Intelligence Branch of Nagpur Zone of the Customs Department busted the smuggling of onions into UAE in the guise of tomatoes and seized onions worth Rs 50 lakh. Due to shortage of onion in the domestic market, the central government was forced to ban exports last December.

In this regard, according to Customs Department sources, last week the Special Investigation and Intelligence Branch of Nagpur Customs Department had stopped four refrigerated containers filled with 83 tonnes of onion at Mumbai's Nhava-Sheva port. The container was labeled declaring that it contained 'tomatoes'. In this way, a large quantity of onion was sent to UAE in the Middle East in the guise of tomatoes. The goods were loaded by two exporters from Nashik.

When the customs team examined these containers, a large quantity of onion was found inside the container along with additional crates of tomatoes. If the Customs Department had not taken this action on the basis of secret information received, this quantity of onion would have been sent to UAE. After such onion smuggling, strict action may be taken against two export companies of Mumbai and Nashik. The Customs Department teams under the guidance of Chief Commissioner KC Johny and Additional Commissioners Sanjay Kumar and Piyush Bhatti carried out the entire operation successfully.