Cuttack: Badambadi police Saturday claimed to have seized huge cache of banned gutkha (tobacco products) from a godown at New Kamalpur in Shankarpur area of the city here.
Police arrested Rabindra Pradhan, 43, of Khannagar Brahmana Sahi in connection with the storage of banned gutkha. Another person involved in the illegal act has managed to escape, sources said.
The market value of the seized gutkha is said to be around Rs 33 lakh.
On a tip-off, a police team led by Badambadi inspector in-charge Rashmi Ranjan Mahapatra raided the godown and found 136 bags filled with the gutkha sachets, sources said.
On being informed, city health officer Satyabrata Mahapatra reached the spot and collected samples of the gutkha for testing.
“We have registered a case in this regard. Steps are being taken to arrest Pradhan’s aide who was involved in the storage of the banned item,” said a police officer.
It is worth mentioning here that the Commissionerate Police had conducted raids at 21 places in Cuttack city and its outskirts between September and December, 2020. The police also seized fake and adulterated goods.
The police had seized adulterated ghee, edible oil, ketchup, turmeric powder, chilli powder, tea powder and honey worth Rs 7.36 crore during the raids. Police had also arrested 25 persons in this connection, sources said.
PNN
