Over 208 tonnes of gutkha seized by TN police in last ten months
Police investigations have revealed that the majority of Gutkha products are smuggled from Karnataka and in the last month alone, five major stocks were busted.
File photo of a recent big haul of gutkha by Avadi city police
CHENNAI: In the last ten months, Tamil Nadu police have seized over 208 tonnes of banned Gutkha products and have registered 21,761 cases against the accused. Apart from police operations, officers of Food Safety and Drug Administration Department had imposed and collected a fine of Rs 17.02 crore and sealed 10,155 shops selling the banned items.
In the said period, three lakh shops and storage areas were checked by joint teams of police and food safety department officials
As per continuous efforts, in August, Avadi city police made a major bust, seizing 10,000 kgs. of banned tobacco products and arrested 3 accused including a kingpin.
Police investigations have revealed that the majority of Gutkha products are smuggled from Karnataka and in the last month alone, five major stocks were busted.
In Salem, Attur Town police seized 490 kg of gutkha worth Rs 4.9 lakh on August 10 and two persons were arrested.
On August 26, Police seized 273 kg of Gutkha at Krishnagiri toll plaza from a car while on September 2, police seized 362 kg of Gutkha from a car at Karimangalam in Dharmapuri district. Two more seizures of about 1,100 kg of Gutkha were made in Salem district in the first week of September.
Tamil Nadu Police appealed to the general public to tip them off about the sale of any banned products through the Toll free helpline number 10581 or WhatsApp number 9498110581 as well as through mail: spnibcid@gmail.com.
“As there is zero tolerance policy towards the sale of such products to minor and near educational institutions, such information may also be informed on these numbers where the anonymity of the callers is maintained and immediate action is taken,” an official release stated.
