CHENNAI: As part of their Operation Cleanup against the possession and sale of gutkha, a banned tobacco product, the Avadi City Police on Sunday seized 98 kg of gutkha from a godown near Tirunindravur. The local police had received a tip-off about sale of the banned oral tobacco products in their jurisdiction, after which a team conducted searches at a shop near Gandhi Statue.

During the searches, 98 kg of oral tobacco products worth Rs 1.26 lakh was seized and the shop owner, identified as Rajesh, was arrested. He was produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody. In a special drive on May 9, as many as 37 shops selling gutkha were sealed by authorities.