Two booked for illegally selling imported cigarettes in Gurugram

Cigarettes of at least 18 imported brands were seized from the shop. The person managing the shop was arrested during the raid and told cops that the shop owner brought stocks of imported cigarettes from Delhi to sell at the shop

Police raided a shop in a mall on Golf Course Road in Sector 53 and seized large quantities of imported cigarettes and e-cigarettes being sold illegally. Two people were also booked following the raid, officials said on Wednesday. According to cops, the sale of such imported cigarettes is prohibited by law. The chief minister’s flying squad received information about the illegal sales and shared it with the Sector 53 police station which raided the shop on Tuesday night.

The chief minister’s flying squad received information about the illegal sales and shared it with the Sector 53 police station which raided the shop on Tuesday night. (Representative image)

Cigarettes of at least 18 imported brands were seized from the shop. The person managing the shop was arrested during the raid and told cops that the shop owner brought stocks of imported cigarettes from Delhi to sell at the shop. The manager, a resident of Greater Kailash in Delhi, received ₹18,000 as remuneration to run the sop. “The owner paid him an additional share from the income made by selling the prohibited cigarettes at high prices,” an investigator said.

Based on a complaint filed by sub-inspector Anil Kumar, an FIR against the two was registered under relevant sections of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Act, and the Indian Penal Code at Sector 53 police station on Tuesday night.

Inspector Amit Kumar, station house officer, Sector 53 police station, said the shop manager granted bail on Wednesday. “We will call the owner to join the investigation and question him about his source of procuring these prohibited items,” he added.