Two held, fake cigarettes worth Rs 39 lakh seized in Jamshedpur

Mail News Service

Jamshedpur, July 8: In a major crackdown on the illegal trade of counterfeit cigarettes, the Mango police seized 45,600 packets of duplicate cigarettes worth around Rs 39 lakh and arrested two persons, while three alleged warehouse operators managed to escape.
Addressing a press conference, City SP Lalit Meena said the operation was carried out on the directions of the Senior Superintendent of Police under the supervision of the City SP and led by Assistant Superintendent of Police (Headquarters-I) Rishabh Trivedi.
Acting on specific intelligence, the police team conducted a raid near Kerala Public School on Jawaharnagar Road No. 17 in Mango. Posing as customers, the police intercepted two youths who had arrived on a scooter to deliver counterfeit cigarettes. A search led to the seizure of 500 packets of fake cigarettes along with the scooter (JH05EA-3413).
During interrogation, the duo disclosed that they had been sourcing the cigarettes from a warehouse at Islamnagar in Kapali and supplying them to retail shops across the city.
Based on their confession, police raided the warehouse and recovered 45,600 packets of duplicate cigarettes packed in 19 plastic sacks. The total value of the seized consignment has been estimated at ₹39 lakh.
The arrested accused have been identified as Uvaid Ansari (19) and Ehtesham Shamim (22). Meanwhile, the alleged warehouse operators—Wali Azam, Shahnawaz Danish and SK Parvez—are absconding. Police have launched raids to trace and arrest the remaining accused, and further investigation is underway.