Police seize counterfeit cigarettes worth millions in major bust in southern India
by Komal KashyapThe Cyberabad Special Operations Team along with the RGIA police caught four persons on charges of transporting fake cigarettes of various brands in southern India’s Telangana.
The incident took place at Gagan Pahad area in Shamshabad, Ranga Reddy district on April 10.
Visuals showed police officers seized numerous cartons of banned cigarettes from a truck, uncovering an illicit transportation operation. The confiscated cartons, stacked high and tightly packed, bore witness to the clandestine activities aimed at smuggling these prohibited goods. Each carton, marked with familiar brand logos, served as a stark reminder of the underground economy thriving on illegal trade.
The arrested persons are Ravikanth Kumar, a transporter from Bihar; Mohd.Shahzad, container truck driver from Haryana; Mubarik Khan, a truck cleaner from Haryana; Syed Iliyasuddin, truck driver and local transporter from Shahalibanda and Rehan Khan, a receiver from Kishan Bagh.
According to the police, the fake cigarettes were concealed in bags claiming to be detergent powder loads and smuggled from Bihar via Patna to Hyderabad in a container truck to be delivered to a company in Musheerabad.
Further investigation revealed that the truck owner had fixed a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) system in the vehicle for communication. The RGIA police booked a case and are questioning the suspects on how long they have been in the illegal business. They are also getting details of the receiver of the consignment from Musheerabad.
*Non Exclusive Video Rights*