DRI seizes 362 MT of Pakistan-origin dry dates routed via UAE
DRI has seized over 362 metric tonnes of Pakistan-origin dry dates that were allegedly routed through the UAE to evade India's import prohibition.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized more than 362 metric tonnes of dry dates of Pakistan-origin, in a crackdown on efforts to bypass India's prohibition on imports from the neighbouring country.
Acting on specific intelligence, DRI officers intercepted 13 containers of dry dates imported by a Mumbai-based firm at CFS Ambad in Nashik. The consignments had arrived from Jebel Ali in the UAE, and the accompanying import documents declared the UAE as the country of origin.
A preliminary investigation indicated a transshipment arrangement intended to conceal the actual origin of the goods. The dry dates were first shipped from Karachi Port in Pakistan to Jebel Ali Port in the UAE in one set of containers aboard a vessel. At Jebel Ali, the cargo was transshipped into a different set of containers and loaded onto another vessel for onward movement to India, through entities operated by Pakistani nationals.
India imposed a complete prohibition on the direct or indirect import or transit of all goods originating in or exported from Pakistan with effect from 2 May 2025, through a Directorate General of Foreign Trade notification issued the same day, citing national security concerns following the Pahalgam terror attack.
Under "Operation Deep Manifest", the DRI has been tracking and intercepting Pakistan-origin goods sought to be brought into India through third-country routing. The agency said the operation reflects its efforts to identify and dismantle networks that use misdeclaration, transshipment and manipulation of documentation to circumvent trade prohibitions.