Foreign cigarettes racket in Hyderabad: 2 held, items worth Rs 20.5L seized

Hyderabad: Two individuals were arrested on Monday, February 10, for operating a foreign cigarette racket in Hyderabad. Cigarettes worth Rs 20.50 lakh were seized from them.

The accused were identified as Mohammed Imran, 42, a businessman and a resident of Aghapura and Mohammed Ayub, 50, a resident of Habeebnagar. The police recovered 39,500 packets of Gold Stag Cigarettes, 4,500 packets of Black Cigarettes and 1000 packets of Mond Cigarettes.

Imran is a native of Nizamabad who migrated to Hyderabad. He owns a family business, “SN Traders Pan Masala”, at Aghapura, Hyderabad. However, over the past few years, the accused has been involved in the illegal business of banned cigarettes.

Imran has connections with Ramesh, a native of Gujarat who also resides in Delhi and procures banned foreign cigarettes at a low price through various means of transport.

He sold these cigarettes in Hyderabad with the help of auto drivers at a high price, earning money illegally. The cigarette packets have no warnings. The commissioner’s task force in south west zone in coordination with the Habeebnagar police raided a warehouse and arrested the accused.

Imran and Ayub were booked under sections 223, and 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanahita (BNS) and section 20 (2) of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (CoTPA).

Apart from the cigarettes, the police also seized a passenger auto from the accused.