Chennai Customs has recorded a 25% increase in the number of seizures in the import section, said Rajan Chaudhary, Commissioner of Customs (Preventive).
Speaking on the sidelines of International Customs Day, he said Customs officials booked 503 cases in the import section, which was a 100 more compared to the previous year. The value of seizures was ₹66 crore as against ₹37 crore the previous year, he added.
“We had 261 gold seizures since last May, whose value goes up to ₹56 crore. Apart from this, we have also had several seizures in the wildlife section [like smuggling sharkfins],” he said.
Customs officials arrested eight persons at the sea port, who were forging documents and taking away containers from container freight stations and recovered goods worth ₹10 crore. “There have also been a huge number of fake goods like watches and shoes which we have seized, whose worth is nearly ₹15 crore. These products are flooding the market,” he said.
Customs Day
At a celebration on the occasion of International Customs Day, Cancer Institute chairperson V. Shanta said she was determined to do something for those affected with cancer.
“When I was a young medical graduate, I received an advice — no organisation can survive if the motive underlying it is one of personal gain, and it can grow and be strengthened only if the principle that directs its policy is that of the well being of a larger community. My mind was immediately impressed and I thought I have to be like that,” Dr. Shanta said.
Top importers and exporters were given awards during the event.
