Sri Lanka, Oct. 15 -- The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), India's apex anti-smuggling agency, has uncovered a sophisticated transnational smuggling ring under Operation Deep Manifest, exposing how prohibited goods from Pakistan are being illegally routed through Sri Lankan ports into international and Indian markets.

The operation, conducted between September 26 and October 11, 2026, laid bare a massive scheme utilising Colombo Port as a transshipment hub to bypass the absolute ban on Pakistani imports imposed by New Delhi following the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack. According to Indian investigators, the syndicate imported 295 containers holding 7,311 metric tonnes of Industrial and Himalayan Rock Salt, valued at approxim...