Coimbatore: 5,000 fine on shops selling banned tobacco items

COIMBATORE: Any grocery shop selling banned tobacco products outside the city limits in the district will be fined 5,000 for the first offence. Shops that were found repeating the offence for the third time will be shut and sealed, and the respective owners will have to seek a court’s permission to reopen the shops.
District superintendent of police V Badrinarayanan said, “We have formed special teams to curtail smuggling of banned tobacco products.Shopowners selling illegal items will be detained and an FIR could be registered against them. The food safety officials will slap a fine of 5,000 against shopowners for the first offence. If shops were found repeating the offence for the second time, owners will be made to pay a fine of 10,000, and if caught again, the shops will be shut.”
On marijuana sales in the district, the SP said the special teams will also work to eradicate marijuana sales. “More than 300 ganja peddlers have been arrested in the past three years. The bank accounts of 103 peddlers were blocked and others’ accounts will also be frozen soon.”
The rural police limits have 5,000 CCTV cameras, he said. “We have identified 1,142 vital locations in the district where CCTV cameras can be installed. These cameras will be fixed at the residential, commercial areas and important junctions and the residents and traders’ aid will be sought for the project,” said Badrinarayanan.