Hyderabad: Rachakonda police on Saturday busted an interstate gutka supplying racket and arrested three persons. The police also seized gutka worth about Rs 4 lakh from their possession.
Police said that the gang was involved in the activity for long, which would be probed thoroughly. The arrested persons were identified as Prathapani Venkataramana, 41, Banda Prasad Reddy, 34, and Alakuntla Naveen, 21. Among those absconding were Srinu Bhai and Sharma, handlers from Bidar in Karnataka, and Srinivas, a receiver from Hyderabad. The police intercepted a pickup van on Friday afternoon based on a tip-off. On checking, police found banned gutka packed in 180 bags. Some 1,250 gutka sachets were seized.
Talking about how the accused operated, LB Nagar DCP M. Venkateswar Rao said, “They purchased sachets in Bidar for '4 a piece and sold it in the city for upto Rs 20 a sachet.”
During inquiry, the arrested persons admitted that this was the second time they brought gutka into the city.
However police suspects that the gang was involved for a long time, and plans to probe the details and the receivers of the material in the city. In all, material worth over Rs 10 lakh was seized from the gang.
