Banned gutkha items were being smuggled in an omni bus coming from Bengaluru to Kerala. District SP Badrinarayanan personally congratulated the Special Cell police for seizing 3.5 tonnes of gutkha in raids conducted at two different locations.
Coimbatore: The Sulur Special Cell police in Coimbatore district received a tip-off that banned gutkha items were being smuggled in an omni bus coming from Bengaluru to Kerala.
Based on this confidential information, the Special Cell police were engaged in intensive vehicle checking near Neelambur. In this case, a luxury passenger bus passing by was stopped and checked. At that time, the driver of the bus gave contradictory answers.
Suspecting this, the police conducted a thorough search of the bus. In this, while checking the seat above the driver's seat, It was found to contain banned gutkha products.
Subsequently, when the entire bus was checked, It was found that gutkha items were hidden in the seat under the emergency exit window behind the bus.
All the passengers in the bus, including the driver, were brought to the police station and interrogated by the police. It was revealed that gutkha items were being smuggled from Bangalore.
The police then seized two tonnes of gutkha items hidden in the bus.
Gutkha dealers Senthilkumar Mohab Basha, Senthil Raja and Jayaprakash were also arrested.
Similarly, the police have received information that gutka is being smuggled from Mysore and rented a godown in Mayilampatti area and gutka products are being sold to petty shops to people from the northern states.
Based on this information, the police raided the godown and said, One-and-a-half tonnes of gutkha was seized from the godown. The police later arrested four persons — Bharat Patel, Amararam, Gopal and Maipal — who were staying in the godown.
Coimbatore District SP Badrinarayanan, who came to know about the stoppage of the sale of around 3 tonnes of gutkha, conducted an inspection at the Sulur police station.
Following this, the DSP congratulated the inspector and the special forces police for handling the gutkha smuggling case effectively.
Coimbatore District SP Badri Narayanan later told reporters, “The Special Task Force (STF) police, who worked effectively in the suburb of Sulur, seized gutka items during a vehicle check.
Rs 20 lakh in cash and 3 tonnes of gutkha have been seized. The police have been working effectively to eradicate gutka items in Coimbatore district.
The Coimbatore district police are preventing the banned gutkha and ganja products from being readily available in areas where students can live. As many as 366 cases have been registered and 544 kg of ganja has been seized in the ganja case alone.
We are also keeping a close watch on college students as they have been using narcotic pills and drug injections. So far, five people have been booked under the Goondas Act in such cases.
A case under the Goondas Act will be registered against 15 people. Goondas cases will be filed against 20 people by the end of this year. Another 33 people involved in these cases are already out on bail.
The police are trying to put them back in jail and steps are being taken to create awareness in villages. Such awareness has already been created in two villages.
Based on confidential information, we are monitoring and arresting those who are hoarding these gutkha items. Most of the gutka products from Bangalore city, which continue to take similar action by the police, are coming to Tamil Nadu.
The police are making efforts to prevent it. So far, gutkha items have been seized from 2 omni buses.
Similarly, heavy trucks have also been seized. These vehicle checks will be carried out so that the public life is not affected.”