Gutka, banned tobacco products worth Rs 20 lakh seized, 2 held

Gutka and other banned tobacco products worth over Rs 20 lakh have been seized at Mira Bhayandar in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Saturday.

The Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police seized the material on Friday morning at Varsova Naka on Mumbai- Ahmedabad highway and also arrested two persons in this connection, an official said.

''Police at Kashimira had got a tip-off that banned gutka and other such products are being transported to Mumbai.

Accordingly, a trap was laid on the highway. During the checking of vehicles, a tempo was found stuffed with gutka and tobacco-based products that are banned in Maharashtra,'' MBVV police spokesperson Tukaram Tatkar said.

The seized material is worth Rs 20.35 lakh, he added.

Two persons, the driver of the vehicle Mohammad Almin Jabbar Khan and its cleaner Mohammad Junaid Liaquat Khan, were arrested, the official said.

An offence was registered against the duo at Kashimira police station, he said.