A day after busting a racket involved in smuggling and selling e-cigarettes, the department of revenue intelligence (DRI) officials on Saturday said that the seizure of 8,500 cigarettes worth Rs 1.25 crore is a tip of the iceberg.
Authorities said that people involved in its selling were not only doing door-to-door delivery of the banned e-cigarettes but were also using the genuine e-commerce platforms for its delivery.
“It is found that their men were first visiting the pubs, discos, bars and other places where they used to exhibit how e-cigarettes are used. Later, after luring the youth and others, they used to sell them,” said an officer of DRI.
Authorities said that those engaged in the sale of these e-cigarettes were taking the bookings through online websites and after getting orders they were delivering it using genuine e-commerce platforms.
