One held for selling foreign fags; stocks worth Rs 7L seized in city

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Commissioner’s Task Force, Central Zone Team, along with Afzalgunj Police, conducted a raid at Gowliguda and apprehended a person involved in illegal import and sale of foreign cigarettes worth Rs 7.05 lakh.

The Police on Tuesday conducted a raid at Gowliguda (back side of the Bus Depot) and arrested Manohar Singh (27). According to police, he was found to be illegally importing foreign cigarettes at a low price from Delhi to Hyderabad through private transport services.

Police said Manohar was storing the contraband at his residential premises and selling it at higher rates to pan shops, kirana stores, and petty vendors across the city, thereby earning illegal profits.

“Without any valid tax invoices, he was purchasing various brands of foreign cigarettes at a low cost and transporting them to Hyderabad via private road transport services,” said YVS Sudheendra, DCP Task Force.

The DCP said that upon arrival, he stored the cigarette cartons at his residence and sold them at inflated prices to local shopkeepers and vendors. The illegal sale of these foreign cigarettes, which do not carry the mandatory statutory health warnings, not only violates COTPA (Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act) but also evades government taxes imposed to discourage tobacco consumption.

As per COTPA regulations, it is mandatory for cigarette packets to display graphic health warnings covering 85% of the packaging space. However, these illegally imported foreign brands do not comply with the packaging and labelling requirements set by the Government of India.

The accused, along with the seized contraband worth Rs 7,05,000 has been handed over to the Afzalgunj Police for further investigation and necessary legal action.