VIJAYAWADA: A team of Commissioner’s Task Force (CTF) arrested one person and seized around Rs 11.50 lakh worth firecrackers stored illegally in a departmental store at Siva Parvathi Nagar in Yanamalakuduru under Penamaluru Police Station limits on Wednesday late night.
Upon receiving information about the illegal stocking of firecrackers, a team of CTF personnel led by ADCP K Srinivasa Rao carried out a surprise inspection at a departmental store in Siva Parvathi Nagar and found the crackers. In a press release issued here on Thursday, Srinivasa Rao said the accused was identified as D Mahesh (42), resident of Prasadampadu.
The investigation revealed that for the last few months, the accused had been maintaining a departmental store in Siva Parvathi Nagar and with Diwali around the corner, Mahesh procured firecrackers illegally from various parts of the country to make a quick buck without paying taxes to the government.
“During our checks, we found 103 boxes of firecrackers of various companies worth Rs 11.50 lakh. The entire stock was seized and the accused was handed over to Penamaluru police for further investigation,” the ADCP said.
He further warned of stern action against those found to be illegally stocking up on firecrackers without obtaining required permissions. Meanwhile, City Police Commissioner B Sreenivasulu commended the efforts of the CTF personnel for seizing the illegal firecrackers.