BENGALURU: The Bengaluru International Airport police busted a criminal enterprise of counterfeit cigarettes, faking various brands, that were imported from Cambodia. Five accused, including a father-son duo, were arrested. The police said the counterfeit contraband worth about Rs 50 lakh, imported by the accused, were seized at the parking area of Terminal 2 of Kempegowda International Airport on Saturday.
Abdul Bashid, a resident of HRBR Layout, his son Mohammed Ashiq, Mohammed Anwar Ibrahim, Mohammed Atar Ansari, and Ghulam Hussain, all residents of Chennai, were arrested.
A case was registered in the early hours of Saturday after N Rajesh, a field executive of Anvesh IPR Services Company -- a cigarette supply agency of ITC, complained about a network that was defrauding people by importing fake cigarettes from abroad in the names of various companies, including ITC.
“On Saturday morning, an operation was conducted based on specific information about the import of fake brand cigarettes from Cambodia and supplying them to states, including Tamil Nadu, and five accused, including Abdul, were arrested. Twenty cigarette boxes were seized,” said an officer.
“The accused were in touch with a network of counterfeiters in Cambodia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore, and were importing them from there at a low price, under the name of ITC company. They were then supplying them to various places including Bengaluru, Chennai and Telangana for huge profits,” the officer added.
The police suspect that the accused were running the racket for several years. A case of copyright infringement has been registered against the accused.