Customs seizes 300,000 illegal cigarettes in Rangpur raid

 

Published: 31 December 2025 : 

Around 300,000 packs of illegal cigarettes of the Black Diamond brand have been seized in a special operation by customs in Rangpur. The cigarettes were recovered in a covered van in the Rangpur Sadar area on Monday night.

Sameeran Acharya, Circle Revenue Officer of Rangpur VAT Office, confirmed the operation.

Customs sources said that the cigarettes of the Black Diamond brand of Abul Khair's company were being smuggled in a covered van for transportation. Based on a secret tip-off, officials of the Customs Excise and VAT department launched the operation on Monday night.

During the operation, a suspicious covered van was stopped and searched, and approximately 300,000 packs of Black Diamond cigarettes were recovered from multiple cartons inside the van. The seized cigarettes are currently in the custody of customs.

Customs authorities said that the process of identifying those involved in the incident and taking legal action against them is underway. It is initially believed that the seized cigarettes were being smuggled to different parts of the country for distribution.

In this regard, Circle Revenue Officer Sameeran Acharya said that 300,000 sticks of Black Diamond cigarettes were seized in a raid by the Rangpur Divisional Customs Excise and VAT Office on Monday night. However, he expressed his inability to provide details in the interest of the investigation.