Crime Branch busts cigarette, tobacco smuggling racket

Where there is prohibition, black marketing rackets are inevitable. The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has busted a racket where tobacco, cigarettes and paan masala were being smuggled in vehicles that had government permission to transport fruits and vegetables.

According to Crime Branch officials, the lid was blown off the racket after police inspector Sunil Mane, in charge of Unit X, received a tip-off. A Unit X team visited Gajanan Colony in Shivaji Nagar, Govandi on Thursday and searched the area covertly till they located the Tata S Model tempo the informant had specified.

“The tempo had a sticker issued by the government, which permitted it to ply during the lockdown. The sticker said it had permission to transport fruits and vegetables. We spotted two men near the tempo who tried to sneak out as soon as the saw us inspecting it,” a Unit X officer said.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/crime-branch-busts-cigarette-tobacco-smuggling-racket/article31539262.ece