Hyderabad: Commissioner’s Task Force personnel and Lalalguda police today raided a gutka marketing shop at Laxmi Nagar, Lalapet and nabbed five accused, who were identified as P. Laxminarayana, sales man-cum-owner of Saraswathi Kirana store, Ch. Rakesh, gutka products distributor, M. Ranjith, R. Narendar, gutka transport car driver and V. Ramaswamy
The police seized noxious Gutka packets which contains tobacco and Nicotine as ingredients of various brands i.e Miraj tobacco products. Amber Tobacco cartons, Raja Premium Tobacco cartons, Madhuri tobacco 59 bags, R.R. Jardha bags eight, Blue-Blue Tobacco bags eight, cash of Rs 87,300, two cars and so on. Three more accused were absconding.
After the Telangana government banned the sale, manufacture, distribution and storage of gutka and all its variants, the accused started procuring banned gutka products from organized dealers at Bidar, Karnataka State at cheap rate and deliver to Kirana shops, Pan shops, sub-dealers in and around Hyderabad.
On tip off, the Commissioner’s Task Force accompanied by Lalaguda police apprehended the five accused. The accused and the seized material were handed over to SHO, Lallaguda PS for further investigation. (NSS)