Kashimira Police has raided a godown on Ghodbunder Road and seized a huge consignment of banned gutkha products worth Rs. 0.50 crore on Tuesday evening.
Acting on a tip-off, a police team from Kashimira Police Station raided a godown in Chena Village on Ghodbunder Road, while the trio was unloading gunny bags from the trucks. When Assistance Police Inspector Mahendra Bhamre checked the bags, he found banned gutkha sachets strips hidden in it. The incident took place at around 4:30 pm on Tuesday.
Police also found one pick-up van carrying similar gunny bags and seized the gutkha from there. The estimated worth of the seized tobacco-based products in the local market has been pegged about half the crores.
The three arrested accused have been identified as – Jaffar Hussain Khan (Godown owner), Sudam Javre (Driver) and Navnath Baarse (cleaner). While the owner resides in Mira Road, the driver and cleaner both are natives of Kuranda village in Hingoli. The trio is in their early 20s.
“Further investigation is on. However, we came to know that the consignment originated from a village in Maharashtra-Karnataka border. To confuse the police, the accused use the modus operandi of transporting the banned products in a container,” said Sanjay Hazare, Sr.PI, Kashimira Police Station.
However, the supplier and the consignee are still absconding. Nevertheless, police have registered the offence under relevant sections of IPC and regulations of the Food Safety and Standards. Police produced the accused before the judge on Wednesday. The court has remanded them to police custody.
