Tamil Nadu: 850kg of gutka seized in Tuticorin, four arrested

MADURAI: The Tuticorin district police on Sunday seized 850kg of gutka that was being smuggled and arrested four people.
According to the police, a special team led by G Chandeesh, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Tuticorin Rural, was tracking a gang that was supplying local gutka sellers.
After tracking for the past one week, based on a tip-off, the special team was able to round up the gang when they reached the Tuticorin district border in two vehicles.
When the vehicles, a mini truck and a car were checked, as much as 850kg of banned tobacco products were found inside. The police also seized Rs 3.7 lakh in cash from two vehicles.
The arrested accused were identified as J Arul Raj (36), V Selva (35), and J Vaseem (34) from Bengaluru in Karnataka and P Kalimuthu (34) from Tirunelveli district.
DSP Chandeesh told TOI that suppliers in Bengaluru were providing the banned tobacco products for sale to various local small-scale dealers and wholesalers across several southern districts of Tamil Nadu.
“The modus operandi is to get orders from these local sellers and sell/deliver the goods to them from time to time by transporting it in vehicles. The two vehicles seized had left Bengaluru by Friday and even before reaching Tuticorin, some of the gutka that they were transporting were sold to dealers in districts like Madurai and Virudhunagar by getting an advance amount,” he added.
Police are investigating further and are making enquiries with the arrested accused regarding how they get the supply of the banned tobacco products and which locations in Tamil Nadu the banned tobacco products were being smuggled to.