Police arrest two smugglers in Virudhunagar; seize 249 kg gutkha

MADURAI: Two men were arrested near Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district on Sunday after being charged with smuggling large quantities of gutkha. After arresting the duo, the M Pudupatti police have seized 249 kg of gutkha stuffed inside 21 bags.

The accused have been identified as A Arulmurugan (24) of Anaiyampatti village, Salem and A Dhasarathan (25) of Salem, sources said. Acting on a tip off, a special team conducted vehicle checks and after having spotted the suspicious movements of two cars at Kammapatti, the vehicles were intercepted.

Police while searching the vehicles found gutkha products in 21 bags. The seized quantities of gutkha is worth Rs 1,75,152. After seizing those two vehicles, the police recovered cash of Rs 1.55 lakh from the accused, sources said.