A joint Customs and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) team has said that it has confiscated multiple containers at Mundra Port, Kutch district, Gujarat, that were being transported on a foreign vessel out of concerns that undeclared hazardous cargo was present inside the containers, NDTV reported pm Friday, 19 November.
"On 18 November, 2021, a joint Customs and DRI team seized several containers at Mundra Port from a foreign vessel on concerns that they contained undeclared hazardous cargo", according to a statement put out by India's largest port operator, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ).
While the cargo was indicated to be non-hazardous, the confiscated containers were marked to contain hazardous substances, that is, with Hazard Class 7 markings.
“APSEZ extended all assistance possible for this operation and thanks to the Customs & DRI personnel for their quick and coordinated action. We salute their alert diligence and will continue to fully assist any action that keeps India safe. The Adani Group takes national security very seriously and will not allow it to be compromised in any way,” the statement added, according to the Indian Express.
The concerned containers were not supposed to land up in Mundra Port, which was only serving as a transit point for them being transported from Karachi in Pakistan to Shanghai in China.
However, "the government authorities had them offloaded at Mundra Port for further inspection."
(With inputs from NDTV and the Indian Express)
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