Hyderabad: Foreign cigarette seller arrested

Hyderabad: The North Zone task force upon receiving a credible information raided a house in Chandrayangutta and arrested one, Md Ahmed and seized foreign cigarettes from his possession worth Rs 12, 60, 000.

According to task force police, the accused person imported the foreign cigarettes from agents in Delhi used to sell it to Pan shop owners and Kirana store owners in the city.

The accused came into contact with the agents Mohika and Ankith at Sadar Bazar in Delhi two years ago and started importing the foreign cigarettes illegally.

These cigarettes are imported into the country from China, Malaysia, Switzerland and South Korea illegally to evade taxes by giving a huge margin of profit to the manufacturers and sellers, said the police.

However with the arrest of Md Ahmed the cops are hopeful that they will be able to break the nexus of smugglers importing the foreign cigarettes as they do not comply with the law specified by cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA).