Nagpur: Tobacco and nylon manja worth about Rs 1.5 lakh seized in two raids, two held

Police in Nagpur have cracked down on the sale of prohibited tobacco products and banned nylon manja, carrying out two separate operations in which two accused were arrested. Goods worth about Rs 1.5 lakh in all were seized. Officers of Tahsil police station are now trying to trace the suppliers of both items and others involved in the illegal trade.

The first operation began when the Detection Branch (DB) squad of Tahsil police, out on patrol, was told that a man in Kasabpura was selling banned tobacco and had piled up a large stock. The man was identified as Muzammil alias Kau Ahmed Wakil, who lives as a tenant in a house owned by Iqbal Ansari, close to the Jamiat-ul-Ulama office.

Police raided the rented premises, arrested Muzammil and seized the banned tobacco products kept there. When questioned, he allegedly told officers that he had bought the stock from Harshad alias Golu Sheikh, a resident of Hasanbagh.

A police team then went to Sheikh's house. He was not at home, but a search of the house still turned up prohibited tobacco worth about Rs 56,000. Taken together, the tobacco recovered from the two locations is valued at roughly Rs 1.10 lakh.

A case has been registered at Tahsil police station on a complaint filed by Sheetal Deshpande, an inspector with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Police are looking into where the tobacco originated and who else forms part of its supply and distribution chain.

The second operation concerned nylon manja, the banned kite string. Tahsil police received word that a man would be arriving near Gandhibagh Garden to sell it. Police set a trap at the spot and detained Waseem Akram Mohammad Ahmed, 33.

A search of the plastic sack he was carrying yielded 26 rolls, also described as bundles, of banned nylon manja. Police seized the stock and took action against him. Investigators are now trying to establish where he got the manja, who supplied it and what network operates behind the sale.

With both cases moving forward, police say the inquiry into the wider network dealing in banned tobacco and nylon manja has been stepped up. Their focus is on reaching the source of these goods and identifying everyone connected with the trade. Harshad alias Golu Sheikh, who was absent during the raid on his house, is among those the police are looking for.