1,048 kg gutkha smuggled from B’luru, Delhi seized, trio held in Royapettah

The accused were identified as Mani (40) of Washermenpet, Upendra Singh (35) and Dharmendra Kumar Singh (27) of Jharkhand. On a specific tip-off, the special team monitored a house on William Street in Royapettah on Tuesday night. A mini truck reached the spot and three men started unloading the bundles from the vehicle. The police surrounded them and searched the bundles in which they found gutkha products that were allegedly smuggled in from Delhi and Bengaluru by train.

“The contraband was stored in the house for distribution to shops in the locality. Mani, who dealt with smugglers from other States, is the main accused,” said the police. Apart from the contraband, a car, two mini trucks and a two-wheeler were seized from them. All three were remanded in judicial custody on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the police arrested a grocery shop owner in Taramani, after he was found in possession of 30 kg of gutkha products. K Chithiraivel (40) of Taramani was remanded in judicial custody.

In another incident, Vadapalani police seized 980 packs of foreign cigarettes from a shop and arrested its owner S Kumaresan (41) of Saligramam. His shop on Ellai Muthalamman Street was raided based on a tip-off, said the police.