Mumbai: The gutka mafia seems to have spotted a lucrative market for its banned offering in the midst of the nationwide lockdown. A 42-year-old trader, identified as Ramprasad Bhawani Yadav, landed in the custody of the Thane (rural) police after having been found to possess scented tobacco products worth more than Rs 61,000.
Acting on a tip-off that a person was selling gutka and other tobacco-laced products in the region, a police team swooped down on a tenement in the Vinayak Nagar area of Bhayandar west and seized the consignment, found stuffed in two gunny bags.
Apart from slapping cases under the relevant sections of the IPC and regulations of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, the accused trader has been also charged for violating the Disaster Management Rules and the Epidemic Act.
The process of handing over the confiscated consignment to the Thane unit of the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) for further investigation is underway.
