33,000 masks worth Rs 8 lakh seized from South Mumbai, one person held

The police got a tip-off following which a constable visited the accused Ansari’s home as a customer to buy a mask.

Mumbai Police’s crime branch unit 2 seized 33,000 three-ply masks worth Rs 8.25 lakh from Agripada on Thursday and arrested a shop keeper, Abdulsamad Subroti Ansari, 42, for allegedly illegally storing the masks at his home in Bharucha compound and selling them in black market.

People wear protective mask during the lockdown over COVID-19 in Mumbai. (ANI File / Representational Photo)

“We got tip-off, following which a constable visited Ansari’s home as a customer to buy a mask. Ansari took Rs 25 from the constable for one mask, despite the government putting a price cap of Rs 10 on the sale of 3-ply masks,” said police inspector Sanjay Nikumbhe of crime branch unit 2.

The police then raided Ansari’s house and handed him over to Agripada police for further probe, said Nikumbhe.