Photo Courtesy: nenews
Guwahati: Kazhakuttam police arrested 42-year-old Ziarul Haque on Thursday night after finding a massive stash of contraband. Officers raided his rented home around 11 pm. They recovered 1,375 packets of banned tobacco products, including various types of pan masala, stashed across multiple rooms in the house.
Haque is a resident of Saidoria in the Nagaon district of Assam. He allegedly hauled the goods from states where they remain legal. He then brought the products into Thiruvananthapuram to sell at a steep markup. Kerala law strictly prohibits the sale of chewing tobacco and pan masala.
"Police are now probing whether Haque was part of a wider network and whether other individuals were involved in the alleged illegal trade of banned tobacco products," officials said. Officers booked Haque under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act. Detectives are currently working to determine if other suspects assisted him in the operation.
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