Mumbai Police haul banned gutka worth Rs 1.22 crore

Mumbai, Jan 2 : In a major swoop on New Year, the Mumbai Police raided a godown in south Mumbai and seized banned gutka and paan masala prodcuts worth Rs 1.22 crore besides recovering cash of Rs 1.22 lakh, an official said here on Saturday.
Based on a tipoff to the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) official Sachin Waze of a huge stockpile of banned gutka and paan masala, a team raided the premises in Bharat Bazar area of Nagpada locality on Friday.
Two persons involved in the racket have been arrested and they were produced before the Sewri Magistrate Court which remanded them to police custody till Monday.
Simultaneously, the CIU has also lodged offences against the manufacturers, suppliers, stockists and sellers of the contraband stuff and further probe is underway by the Nagpada Police Station, said Joint Police Commissioner (Crime) Milind Bharambe.
Among the earliest states to prohibit these products, Maharashtra had banned manufacture, sale and consumption of gutka, paan masala containing tobacco and certain other flavoured products in July 2012.
Later another 14 other states followed suit in view of the serious health hazards associated with their consumption and addiction, though the products are reportedly in heavy demand from its connoisseurs in the gray markets.