Two pan shops raided for allegedly selling imported cigarettes illegally

The police said that the raid took place on Saturday around 10pm after they received a tip-off regarding the alleged sale of imported cigarettes.

The police on Saturday raided two ‘paan’ shops and arrested two men for allegedly selling imported cigarettes illegally in Sector 32 and 29.

Raids were conducted by the officers of the food and drugs administration, Haryana, and a teams of police officers from sectors 29, 50, 53 and Civil Line police stations. They were also joined by drug control officers from Gurugram, Palwal and Faridabad. (HT FILE)

According to the police, the raids were conducted by the officers of the food and drugs administration, Haryana, and a teams of police officers from sectors 29, 50, 53 and Civil Line police stations. They were also joined by drug control officers from Gurugram, Palwal and Faridabad.

The police said that the raid took place on Saturday around 10pm after they received a tip-off regarding the alleged sale of imported cigarettes.

Amandeep Chauhan, drug control officer, Gurugram, said, “The shops were selling imported cigarettes illegally. The two shops are habitual offenders. We had raided them back in 2017 as well. The accused persons sell them at cheap prices, which harms the business of the countrymade cigarettes.”

A case was registered against the accused persons under Section 7 (restrictions of trade and commerce in, and production, supply and distribution of cigarettes and other tobacco products) of the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, at Sector 50 police station on Saturday.

The arrested men were produced before a district court and granted bail on Sunday.