CHENNAI: Five persons were arrested for smuggling a total of one tonne of gutka in two separate incidents at Mamallapuram and Ambattur over the weekend.
In Mamallapuram, police conducted a vehicle check based on a tip-off on Saturday. During the check, they stopped a car with four men inside, who were being evasive to their queries. Upon inspection, police found 500kg of gutka in the car and seized it.
All four men — hailing from Rajasthan — Harasan Kumar (22), Jeevaram (20), Peraram (37) and Kimaram (22) were arrested and remanded in judicial custody, police said. The accused had sourced the substance from Karnataka, they added.
Similarly, in Ambattur, police nabbed a 51-year-old man, M Kannan of Red Hills, based on a tip-off on Sunday. The police caught Kannan red-handed near the Kallikuppam Service Road while he was stashing gutka in the bushes nearby.
Cops recovered 500kg of the substance from the spot. The accused too had sourced the substance from Karnataka, police said. Kannan was arrested and remanded in judicial custody.