CCB raids tobacco warehouse, seizes products worth Rs 61.82 lakh

Bengaluru: As part of their drive against smoking-related offences, the police raided a warehouse where tobacco products were stored illegally in southern Bengaluru.

On May 31, the Central Crime Branch’s Women Protection Wing, based on a tip-off, raided the warehouse located near Thalaghattapura, off Kanakapura Main Road, and detained two people for questioning.

The suspects reportedly admitted to the police that they did not have a licence to store or supply the tobacco products. The police recovered 155 bags of Ganesh 701 tobacco, 160 bags of Cool Lip filter tobacco, 60 boxes of SGT tobacco, and 60 boxes of paan masala, all worth an estimated Rs 61.82 lakh.

The police added that they also recovered a goods vehicle used to supply the products. The suspects were handed over to the Thalaghattapura police for further legal action.

In another case, the CCB arrested a man from a shop in HRBR Layout and recovered 201 e-cigarettes, 297 hookah flavours, and six boxes of foreign-made cigarettes. The total cost is said to be around Rs 70,000. The police have booked the shopkeeper and are making efforts to trace him.

Fines & FIRs 

To mark World No-Tobacco Day, which falls on May 31, the Bengaluru police had announced a special drive against smoking-related offences between May 29 and June 2.

The police collected Rs 21.19 lakh in fines for 11,507 incidents of violation related to the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), and registered 909 FIRs.