New Delhi, Sep 14 — The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized more than 362 metric tonnes of Pakistan-origin dry dates in a major crackdown on attempts to circumvent India’s prohibition on imports from Pakistan through third-country routing, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday.
Acting on specific intelligence, DRI officers intercepted 13 containers carrying dry dates imported by a Mumbai-based firm at the Container Freight Station (CFS) Ambad in Nashik. The consignments had arrived in India from Jebel Ali in the UAE, while the import documents declared the UAE as the country of origin.
Preliminary investigation by the agency revealed that the consignments were part of an allegedly orchestrated transshipment arrangement aimed at concealing the Pakistan-origin of the goods.
According to the investigation, the dry dates were initially 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 goods were merely transshipped and transferred into another set of containers before being loaded onto a different vessel for onward transportation to India.
The onward shipment was allegedly facilitated through entities operated by Pakistani nationals, according to the DRI.
The seizure comes against the backdrop of the government's decision to prohibit the direct or indirect import or transit of goods originating in or exported from Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack.
The prohibition on such imports and transit came into effect on May 2, 2025, through DGFT Notification No. 06/2025-26. The measure was introduced in the interest of national security and covers goods routed directly as well as indirectly through third countries.
Under “Operation Deep Manifest”, the DRI has been working to identify and intercept Pakistan-origin goods that are allegedly being routed through third countries in an attempt to evade the import restrictions.
The latest seizure highlights the agency’s continued efforts to detect and dismantle networks allegedly involved in circumventing trade prohibitions through misdeclaration, transshipment and manipulation of import documentation.
The DRI said such enforcement action is aimed at safeguarding national security while strengthening the integrity and transparency of India’s supply chains.