THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Chirayinkeezhu police have arrested two persons and seized banned tobacco products worth Rs 4 crore from their possession at Koorakkada near Chirayinkeezhu.
The raid was jointly conducted by Thiruvananthapuram DANSAF and the local police. The arrested have been identified as Shiju of Vanchiyoor and Shambhu Mohan of Chirayinkeezhu.
The seized contraband was being stored for sale during Christmas-New Year festivals.
According to the police, contraband was stored in 277 sacks in a godown
which was originally used to keep bottled water. The accused sold the
banned products under the guise of bottled water supply. The police
added that the tobacco products were brought from Bengaluru in trucks
carrying onion. The contraband was concealed under onion sacks to give
the sleuths at the check posts a slip.
The arrested were booked under the relevant sections of the Juvenile
Justice Act, the Kerala Police Act and the COTP Act. They were
produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody.
The arrests were carried out by a team comprising Attingal DySP
Manjulal, Chirayinkeezhu SHO V S Vineesh, SI Mani, DANSAF SI B Dileep,
ASI Rajeevan and CPO Sunil Lookman.