Chennai: Unable to pull wool over railway officials’ eyes, desperate gutka (tobacco products) smugglers have resorted to using lorries to smuggle the contraband into the state, where sales and consumption are banned.
According to police sources, two businessmen operating from Delhi and Bengaluru are the kingpins of the smuggling. “These two businessmen are smuggling the products into the state through agents,” police said. However, police refused to disclose the names.
The revelation came after the Chennai Police raided two shops near Porur on Friday. “Earlier the smugglers were using trains to smuggle the contraband. But after the railway police increased vigil, they resorted to lorries. The smugglers also pay a hefty sum to the lorry owners and agents in the state,” the police added.
On Friday evening, the city police seized gutka products concealed in eight sacks from a load auto near Puzhal. The interrogation with driver S. Muthu (22) of Nazereth in Tuticorin district led the police to a construction material shop in Porur and a packaged drinking water plant in Periyapaniseri.
During surprise raids at two locations, the Mangadu police also had seized five tonnne of gutka products and foreign cigarettes worth Rs 2 crore, apart from arresting four employees.
Meanwhile, main accused Kanagalingam, who stocked the products, escaped the police arrest and is absconding. The police also added that Kanagalingam had, reportedly, received Rs 1.50 lakh as commission excluding the transportation charges from the businessmen.
“The gutka network has turned intricate and agents across many parts of the state are running the illegal business unabated. The network will be nabbed once the kingpins arrested,” the police said. At the same time, the police also have initiated a hunt for the two businessmen, who are underground.
