The central unit 2 of the crime branch of Navi Mumbai police arrested two persons and seized banned gutkha worth Rs 1.46 lakh. The contraband was brought from Gujarat and stored in a house in Adai village under the Khandeshwar Police station.
Acting on a tip-off, the police carried out a raid at a house in Adai village early this week and arrested a person with banned gutkha and flavoured paan masala. Police said that during interrogation, the owner of the contraband was arrested. The duo were identified as Mukesh Kumar Gupta, 39, and Sumit Shantilal Joshi, 35, both are residents of Adai village in Raigad district. Police said that gutkha was stored in the house and they were supplying it to nearby paan shops.
Police said that a similar case was registered against the second accused Joshi under the Food Safety Act.
Commissioner of police Bipin Kumar Singh has a zero-tolerance policy against the sales of drugs in the city.
In the last fortnight, this was the third seizure of gutkha. According to police, the gutkha is brought in from the neighboring state Gujarat where there is no ban.
Last Saturday, police caught a tempo laden with contraband near IGPL Naka in Taloja with different varieties of gutka.
