Delhi Customs Seized 5 Lakh Masks And 952 PPE Kits Being Smuggled To China

Recently, a large number of masks, sanitizers, and Personal Protective Equipment were seized by Delhi customs while being smuggled to China.

To avoid customs’ official suspicion and further scrutiny, the goods were labeled as kids' dresses, garments, pouches’ packing materials and cosmetic items.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has already prohibited exporting such goods. As many countries have been facing a shortage of such products, they have had to increased production or imported them from other countries.

On March 19th, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade issued a notification that read:

This was when India was seeing a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases and in the demand for masks, sanitizers, and PPE.

The smuggled items were seized in two different operations. In the first one, customs officials confiscated 2,480 kg of raw material used for producing masks. In addition, multiple shipments which contained 5.08 lakh masks, 925 PPE kits, and 67 liters of sanitizer were seized at the courier terminal, New Delhi.

The official said that these items were to be smuggled to the United States, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, as well as other European countries.

With the COVID-19 outbreak looming over the world, there is an alarming high demand and shortage in Personal Protective Equipment for the frontline workers. With no signs of improvement, the demand and supply for PPE are properly going to remain the same for the rest of 2020.

And this, in turn, has been a driving force for India. In just two months, from making zero PPE kits to nearly 2.5 lakh kits along with 2 lakh N92 masks per day, the country has made a revolution. The number of PPE kits and masks is enough to help the country deal with the COVID-19 outbreak.

>>> From 0 To 2.5 Lakh Per Day: How India Revolutionized Its Personal Protective Equipment Manufacturing