Over 250 e-cigarettes worth Rs 5 lakh recovered in Delhi, 5 held

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Five people have been arrested for allegedly storing, transporting and selling e-cigarettes in the national capital, police said on Friday.

According to the police, 257 e-cigarettes worth around Rs 5 lakh were recovered from their possession along with Rs 4 lakh in cash.

Manufacturing, importing, advertising, or selling e-cigarettes is banned in India since September 2019.

At around 2 am on October 2, a team out on night patrol spotted an Ertiga car parked at an abandoned place near the Ashok Park Main Metro station, which raised suspicion, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Vichitra Veer said.

Soon another car stopped near the vehicle and people started to shift boxes into the Ertiga, he said.

The police apprehended both the drivers and seized 20 boxes containing 10 e-cigarettes in each of them. They also seized Rs 4 lakh in cash from their possession, the DCP said.

"The duo has been identified as Ritik Uppal (22) and Sabi Kumar (32). During interrogation, they named three others -- Aniket (32), Pawan Chaurasia (42) and Dikshant Kumar (28) -- who also stored and sold e-cigarettes," the officer said.

"All three have been arrested and 57 e-cigarettes were recovered from their possession," the DCP said.

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