Gutka valued at Rs 3.77 crore seized; four held

Thane, Jul 24 (PTI) Police have seized gutka worth Rs 3.77 crore from Thane and neighbouring Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra, and arrested four persons in this connection, officials said on Thursday.

The Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Navi Mumbai police's crime branch carried out the operation that began on July 21.

Acting on a tip-off, the ANC officials raided a place in Kamothe located under the Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits and apprehended a man identified as Farhan Majid Sheikh (23), the police said in a statement.

They recovered gutka worth Rs 22.40 lakh from his possession and a case was registered against him at the Kamothe police station under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

Based on the information provided by Sheikh during his interrogation, the police found that more stock of the contraband was stored at Yewai village in Bhiwandi taluka of Thane.

With the help of three officers and 20 personnel, a second raid was carried out, leading to the seizure of gutka loaded in containers. Goods valued at Rs 3.54 crore was recovered and truck drivers were held for its illegal transport, the police said.

With this, the collective value of the seized gutka, which is banned in the state, stood at Rs 3,77,28,000, they said.

The operation was conducted with the assistance of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Apart from Sheikh, the police have arrested Jitendra Mangilal Vasunia, Bhupendra Rajendra Singh and Bhawar Khemraj Singh, all residents of Madhya Pradesh in this connection.

The operation was carried out under the supervision of Ashok Rajput, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Economic Offences Wing), the police added.

The police authorities are now trying to find out the sender of the banned product as well as its intended recipient.

"This is a major success in our continued effort to eliminate banned substances from Navi Mumbai and the surrounding regions," a senior ANC official said. PTI COR NP