A police officer was arrested in Palghar district of Maharashtra on September 13 on the charge of misappropriation of seized foreign-made cigarettes worth crores of rupees.
Sharif Shaikh (52), assistant sub-inspector, Waliv police station, was booked under section 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the IPC.
Police spokesperson Hemant Katkar said that Waliv police had seized a huge quantity of smuggled cigarettes of Gudang Garam, a foreign brand, estimated to be worth Rs 3.24 crore.
The sale of these cigarettes is banned in the country.
Shaikh, who was responsible for keeping the contraband safe till the trial of the related case was over, allegedly pilfered cigarettes worth Rs 2.16 crore.
When the alleged misappropriation came to light, Shaikh was arrested, and further probe was on, Katkar added.
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