The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seizes about 362 metric tonnes of dry dates of Pakistan origin in Nashik, Maharashtra, as part of “Operation Deep Manifest,” according to Mint and NDTV. Officials intercept 13 containers and seize the goods, saying the operation targets alleged attempts to conceal the origin of prohibited items.
Sources describe the purported method as transshipment through a third country to mask that the dates are from Pakistan. Mint reports that preliminary investigations point to a routing plan in which the dates are first shipped from Karachi Port, Pakistan, to Jebel Ali Port in the UAE in one set of containers on a single vessel, before onward movement to India. NDTV similarly says the shipment is hidden behind UAE labels, reflecting a UAE-linked network used to bypass India’s total ban on Pakistani goods.
While the outlets differ slightly in emphasis—Mint focuses on the transshipment mechanism and container routing details, and NDTV highlights the concealment behind third-country labelling—all accounts attribute the seizure to the DRI and describe a UAE route used to get around the ban.
