Hyderabad man held for selling foreign cigarettes worth Rs 7L

Hyderabad: One individual was arrested by the Afzalgunj police on Tuesday, June 24, for allegedly importing and selling foreign cigarettes. 322 boxes of illegal cigarettes worth Rs 7,05,000 were seized from his possession.

The accused, Manohar Singh, 27, is a resident of Gowliguda Chaman, Afzalgunj. According to the police, the accused used to illegally procure foreign cigarettes at a low price from Delhi to Hyderabad through private transport services.

Singh was allegedly procuring these foreign cigarettes without valid tax invoices and storing them in his house, and selling them at higher rates to pan shops, kirana stores, and petty vendors across the city.

The sale of these foreign cigarettes violates COTPA (Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act) as they do not comply with the packaging and labelling requirements set by the Government of India.