New Delhi: Banned e-cigarettes worth over Rs 2 crore have been seized and eight members of inter-state gangs involved in importing and selling them arrested, Delhi Police said on Friday.
On Thursday, information regarding the import and transportation of prohibited electronic cigarettes in the north district was received, they said. These e-cigarettes were being transported from Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur to Delhi, the police said in a statement.
A team conducted a raid near a private hospital and upon checking, 24 cartons containing 4,740 units of e-cigarettes made in China were recovered, Deputy Commissioner of Police (north) Manoj Kumar Meena said.
Tempo driver Saddiq Ali (47) revealed that e-cigarettes were being taken to a godown in Karol Bagh area to be delivered to Nitin through his associate, Sheikh Kamal, the statement said.
Subsequently, Sheikh Kamal (30) and Nitin (25) were apprehended, it said, adding that on the instance of Nitin, eight boxes of 1,600 e-cigarettes were also recovered from his godown. "Search of a Gujarat-based kingpin and his other associates is going on," said the DCP.
In another incident, the Delhi Police apprehended five people for allegedly storing, transporting and selling e-cigarettes in the national capital. According to the police, 257 e-cigarettes worth around Rs 5 lakh were recovered from their possession along with Rs 4 lakh in cash.
At around 2 am on October 2, a team out on night patrol spotted an Ertiga car parked at an abandoned place near the Ashok Park Main Metro station, which raised suspicion, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Vichitra Veer said. Soon another car stopped near the vehicle and people started to shift boxes into the Ertiga, he said.
The police apprehended both the drivers and seized 20 boxes containing 10 e-cigarettes in each of them. They also seized Rs 4 lakh in cash from their possession, the DCP said. "The duo has been identified as Ritik Uppal (22) and Sabi Kumar (32). During interrogation, they named three others -- Aniket (32), Pawan Chaurasia (42) and Dikshant Kumar (28) -- who also stored and sold e-cigarettes," the officer said.
"All three have been arrested and 57 e-cigarettes were recovered from their possession," the DCP said. Manufacturing, importing, advertising, or selling e-cigarettes has been banned in India since September 2019.
