Lockdown: Man rakes in Rs 49 lakh through illegal tobacco sale

Police also seized gutkha worth Rs 5.53 lakh from the arrested accused Rakesh Kumar Gupta, a resident of suburban Mankhurd, during a raid on Friday, a crime branch official said. Sale of tobacco and related products remains banned during the lockdown under the Disaster Management Act 2005.

A 27-year-old man from Mumbai has earned eye-popping Rs 49.14 lakh by selling banned gutkha and other tobacco products during the lockdown period, police said on Saturday. Police also seized gutkha worth Rs 5.53 lakh from the arrested accused Rakesh Kumar Gupta, a resident of suburban Mankhurd, during a raid on Friday, a crime branch official said.

Sale of tobacco and related products remains banned during the lockdown under the Disaster Management Act 2005. "Police found huge cash and a large number of tobacco substances, which were stocked to sale at higher prices, with Gupta. He was trying to flee to his home state Uttar Pradesh, but we foiled his bid," the official said.

Gupta told us that he had earned Rs 49.14 lakh by selling gutkha and other tobacco-related products at a higher price during the period of lockdown, the official said. Gupta had been booked on similar charges earlier by Mankhurd Police.

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