Navi Mumbai: Crime branch seizes 4 lakh used gloves in Pawane

Unit 1 of the crime branch of Navi Mumbai police conducted a raid in Pawane, MIDC, on Wednesday and seized 263 bags of used hand gloves that were being cleaned and repacked for sale. Police arrested one person involved in the illegal trade and also seized the machine being used to clean the used rubber hand gloves.

Based on a tip-off received from a reliable source, unit 1 of the crime branch of Navi Mumbai police conducted a raid from gali number 29 to 80 in Pawane, MIDC, along the Thane-Belapur road on Wednesday morning. During the raid, the police found 263 bags of cleaned and uncleaned rubber hand gloves. The weight of all these bags was around 3 to 4 quintals.

Police said that hand gloves were used for medical purposes and were cleaned and repacked for sale. “There are around 4 lakh rubber hand gloves. Some of the hand gloves were already sold by cheating people,” said a senior official from the crime branch. He added that they also seized two washing machines, three boilers, and other packaging machines worth Rs 6,10,720. The arrested person was identified as Prashant Ashok Surve, a resident of sector 9 in Belapur.

Now, the police are investigating the place where he used to get the used hand gloves and to whom he was selling. “This cannot be one man's work and there must be a gang behind it. They are playing with the lives of common people,” said the official. He added that these gloves must have been used for COVID-19 purposes, as the use has increased after the outbreak of coronavirus. A case has been registered at Turbhe police station under section 420, 188, 270 and 336 against Surve and others.