Mumbai: Three persons held with gutka worth Rs 78 lakh in Andheri

The case was registered at D.N. Nagar Police Station

Three persons were held with gutka worth Rs 78 lakh in Mumbai's Andheri area, an official said.

A truck loaded with illegal gutka valued at 78 lakhs was intercepted by Unit 9 of the Mumbai Crime Branch. The case was registered at D.N. Nagar Police Station under sections 188, 272, 273, 328, and 34 of IPC, along with Section 59 of The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

Acting on a tip-off, Unit 9 led by Sr PI Daya Nayak conducted a successful operation, apprehending a truck loaded with banned gutka and sainted supari of RR company. The seized property includes gutka from RR company valued at Rs 78,01,200 and the truck itself worth Rs 26,00,000, bringing the total to Rs 1,04,01,200.

The accused, identified as Ibrahim Menuddin Inamdar, a 30-year-old cleaner from Gulbarga, Karnataka, was taken into custody. Probing further, the crime branch also arrested two more accused identified as Santosh Kumar Singh and Kaleem Khan who are part of the illegal Guthka syndicate.

The sale and consumption of gutka, scented and flavoured tobacco has been banned in Maharashtra since 2012.