Overview

• DRI officers uncovered 83,520 pieces of Chinese firecrackers hidden in two 40-foot containers during checks conducted from October 14 to 18 under Operation Fire Trail.
• The shipments were falsely declared as engineering goods with cover cargo including silicon sealant guns and aluminium sheets to mask the fireworks.
• Four suspects — including two Mumbai-based men — were arrested in coordinated actions across Tuticorin and Chennai, produced before a magistrate, and remanded to judicial custody.
• The seized consignment, valued at about Rs 5.01 crore, has been handed to Tuticorin Customs for inventory and further legal process, while investigators search for at least one more suspect linked to the case.
• In a related action by the Mumbai Zonal Unit, DRI seized Chinese-origin firecrackers worth Rs 4.82 crore at Nhava Sheva Port and arrested one person, highlighting a wider crackdown.