The police have seized gutka and banned tobacco products valued at nearly Rs 46 lakh in Maharashtra`s Thane city, an official said on Thursday, reported news agency PTI.
Acting on a tip-off about the sale of the contraband from a residential property in the Kasarwadavali area, the police raided the premises on Tuesday, he said.
The cops seized various brands of banned gutka and tobacco products, valued at about Rs 46 lakh, and booked two persons, identified as Nilesh Chalwade (35) and Satyaban Behra (32), reported PTI.
A case has been registered against Chalwade and Behra under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Act, reported PTI.
The police are trying to determine the source of the gutka and the distribution network of the accused persons, the official added.
Three held with Rs 6 lakh gutka, banned tobacco products in Palghar district
In another case, three persons were arrested after the police in Maharashtra`s Palghar district recovered gutka and banned tobacco products valued at Rs 6 lakh from them, reported news agency PTI.
Acting on inputs, the local crime branch on August 28 searched a tempo parked near a dhaba in the Talasari area.
Gutka and other tobacco products worth Rs 6 lakh were found in the vehicle. Three occupants of the tempo were arrested, the official said.
“A probe is underway to ascertain from where the banned goods were procured and to where they were being transported,” the police said in a release, reported PTI.
The trio has been identified as Mohammad Arjab Jamirul Haq (22), and Dilshad Shamshad Ali (20), both drivers hailing from Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Nenaram Chabhuji Gujar (48), a businessman from Rajsamand, Rajasthan, reported PTI.
Two truck drivers held with gutka consignments valued at Rs 1.23 cr in Palghar
Meanwhile, the police seized consignments of banned gutka, valued at Rs 1.23 crore, from two trucks on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway in Palghar district and arrested two drivers, an official said, reported news agency PTI.
“The banned tobacco products were concealed inside two containers and were being transported in violation of state laws and food safety regulations. The estimated value of the seized gutka is Rs 1.23 crore,” the Talasari police station officer told PTI.
He stated that the seizure was made during patrolling at Vikaspada in Talasar.
The drivers were arrested under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations and the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, reported PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)
