Lonavla police seized 342 gunny bags of gutkha sachets worth ₹10.67 lakh and arrested three persons, said officials on Monday.
Accused have been identified as truck driver Mohamad Khalil Jamal Ahmed Sheikh (40) , truck cleaner Nasaruddin Buransahab Khadkhade (35) and truck owner Sadam alias Sayyad Guddusahab Mulla Dastagir all are residents of Gulbarga in Karnataka state.
According to police officials, a team of Lonavala police received information about a truck carrying gunny bags of gutkha, banned tobacco products coming from Karnataka and via Pune going to Mumbai. Acting on the tip-off, a team of Lonavla rural police, local crime branch team caught them near Kusgaon village.
On Monday, at around 2:00 pm police intercepted a truck and seized gutkha products worth ₹1,067,040 and a truck worth of ₹15 lakh.
Satya Sai Karthik, deputy superintendent of police, Lonavla division said, “We got information about illegal transport of banned gutkha products according to which we intercepted the truck and arrested three persons.”
As per the complaint filed by the Officials from the Food and Drug administration (FDA) Pune, Lonavla police have registered a case under sections of 328, 272, 273,188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant sections of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.