New Delhi: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has unearthed a large-scale illegal import racket involving more than 73 lakh kg of Pakistan-origin rock salt worth around ₹30 crore, which was brought into India by routing shipments through Sri Lanka and using fabricated documents to conceal their origin.
Under an operation codenamed “Deep Manifest”, the DRI detected 295 containers carrying 7,311 metric tonnes of industrial and Himalayan rock salt. The consignments were first shipped from Pakistan to Colombo Port in Sri Lanka. At this stage, the original documents were accurate — bills of lading and Sri Lankan customs declarations clearly listed Pakistan as the country of origin and India as the final destination.
Once the cargo reached Sri Lanka, the network switched documents. UAE-based entities, mainly Dubai firms, issued fabricated certificates of origin and invoices that concealed the Pakistani origin of the salt. The containers were then re-exported from Colombo to Indian ports. Mundra Port and Kandla Port in Gujarat served as the primary entry points, with nine importers bringing in all 295 containers through these two ports since March 2026. Mundra handled a substantial portion of the illegal consignments, allowing the network to clear large volumes of the banned rock salt into the Indian market under the cover of forged paperwork.
Acting on specific intelligence, DRI teams conducted a coordinated, fortnight-long operation between September 26 and October 11, searching premises linked to the network in Gandhidham, Adipur, Veraval, Panipat, Pune, Patiala, Delhi and Mumbai. Of the total consignments detected, five containers carrying 140 metric tonnes of rock salt, valued at ₹24.41 lakh, were seized at Kandla Port. The agency also seized sales proceeds amounting to ₹20.96 lakh held in the importers’ bank accounts.
Preliminary investigation has uncovered a transnational network involving entities owned by Pakistani, UAE, Sri Lankan and Indian nationals. The network allegedly coordinated the shipments and the document switch to disguise the origin of the goods. Sri Lanka was used as a convenient transshipment hub precisely because it allowed the cargo to break the direct Pakistan-to-India chain without any substantial transformation of the goods, after which Mundra and Kandla ports became the gateways into India.
Four persons have been arrested under the Customs Act, 1962. They include two proprietors/partners of importing firms, a Customs Broker’s G-card holder, and the owner of a Dubai-based supplier who had also established and operated an importing firm in his father’s name. Further investigation is underway to identify other members of the network.
The imports violated the complete prohibition imposed by the Government of India on the direct or indirect import or transit of all goods originating in or exported from Pakistan, following the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025. The ban was imposed in the interest of national security and public policy.
This is not the first such detection. Last month, the DRI had seized over 3.62 lakh kg of Pakistan-origin dry dates at Nashik in a similar operation involving third-country routing. The present case underscores the continued attempts by smuggling networks to circumvent India’s import ban by using transshipment hubs and forged documentation, with Gujarat’s major ports, particularly Mundra and Kandla, emerging as key points of entry.