Bhuj: In the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, the Union government imposed a complete ban on all direct and indirect trade with Pakistan. Despite this, certain elements attempted to circumvent the restrictions by misdeclaring the origin of cargo.

In response, the Ministry of Finance launched “Operation Deep Manifest”, targeting illicit imports routed through third countries. Under this operation, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) recently seized 47 containers of rock salt (Sindh salt) at Kandla and Mundra ports. While the cargo was genuinely from Pakistan, the documents falsely stated it originated from Middle Eastern countries.

Of the intercepted shipments, 10 containers were seized at Kandla port and 37 at Mundra port, across three separate consignments. The Bill of Entry (BL) indicated the salt came from Iran via Dubai, but investigations confirmed the true origin was Pakistan.

Valued at Rs 1.60 crore, the seized cargo is under investigation, involving four importers based in Gujarat. According to officials, Operation Deep Manifest has so far led to the filing of multiple cases nationwide, with a total seizure value of Rs 12.04 crore, striking at the economic interests of the terrorist nation. Authorities have also flagged a high possibility of duty evasion in these imports from Sindh. DeshGujarat