Pimpri-Chinchwad: Kiwale-bound gutkha and other items, including banned pan masala, scented tobacco, and others, were seized by Pune's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Pimpri-Chinchwad's Ravet, officials announced on Wednesday.
A case has been registered at the Ravet Police Station against 12 people, of whom five have been arrested. FDA official Balaji Audumbar Shinde reported the matter to the Ravet Police Station.
Ravet Police have arrested Prakash Kamkar, Rakesh Devasi, Hukumaram Devasi, Budharam Ukmaram, and Pintu Devasi. Vitthal Gadad, Mahendra Devasi, Sujit Khivsara, Chandak Dhayari, Gandhi Wakad, Nisar Almatti, and Saddam Kotvali are absconding. All of them have been booked under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006.
According to police reports, the action was taken on Tuesday at 6 a.m. near Kiwale on the Katraj-Dehu Road Bypass section of the Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway.
A police official said, "The banned items were being brought from the Vijapur area of Karnataka. FDA officials had a tip-off about it, and they, in collaboration with Ravet Police, carried out this action."
Police said that hundreds of packets of banned pan masala, gutkha, khaini, scented tobacco, and others worth ₹26,00,120 were seized. Vehicles used for the crime, including tempos and pick-ups worth ₹25,00,000, were also seized. All the items seized are worth ₹51,00,120.
This action was conducted by FDA and police officials under the guidance of FDA Joint Commissioner Suresh Annapure and Senior Police Inspector Nitin Phatangare, in charge of Ravet Police Station.
