₹50 lakh worth gutkha seized in Kashimira, 3 arrested

Kashimira police on Tuesday evening raided a godown on Ghodbunder Road and seized a huge consignment of banned gutkha products worth ₹50 lakh, and three persons have been arrested.

“We received a tip-off and raided a godown in Chena village, while the trio was unloading jute bags from a container truck. When we checked the bags, we found the banned gutkha sachets and strips hidden in it,” said Sanjay Hazare, senior inspector of Kashmira police station.

Police seized a pick-up van carrying the contraband valued at around ₹50 lakh in the local market.

The three arrested accused have been identified as Jaffar Hussain Khan (godown owner), Sudam Javre (driver) and Navnath Barse (cleaner). While the godown owner resides in Mira Road, the driver and cleaner both are natives of Kuranda village in Hingoli district. The trio was remanded in police custody after being produced before the Thane court on Wednesday. The consignee and supplier are absconding.

“The contraband was transported from a village along the Maharashtra-Karnataka border. To confuse the police, the accused used the modus operandi of transporting the banned products in a container,” said Hazare.