Blacklisted Baofeng wireless sets among goods seized by DRI in Navi Mumbai

The DRI seized prohibited walkie-talkies and e-waste HDDs worth Rs 9.25 crore at Nhava Sheva port, arresting a father-son duo and confiscating a Rs 30.25 crore consignment imported from China for misdeclaration

Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized 11,060 prohibited walkie-talkie sets and second-hand hard disk drives (HDDs), collectively valued at Rs 9.25 crore, at Nhava Sheva port in Navi Mumbai.

A father-son duo, owners of two Mumbai-based firms that allegedly imported the goods without required permissions, have been arrested under the Customs Act, officials said on Saturday.

Acting on specific intelligence, DRI officials confiscated Baofeng BF-888S walkie-talkies worth Rs 2.5 crore and second-hand HDDs, classified as e-waste, valued at Rs 6.75 crore.

The prohibited items were concealed within a consignment of miscellaneous electronic goods worth Rs 21 crore. The entire shipment, valued at Rs 30.25 crore and comprising eight containers imported from China, was seized for misdeclaration.

Officials said the Baofeng BF-888S walkie-talkies have been blacklisted by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for operating beyond permitted frequencies, posing potential risks to national security. These devices require specific licences for use.

Second-hand HDDs cannot be imported without prior authorisation from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), officials added.