Coimbatore, December 18: Four persons, including two natives of Rajasthan, were held in Coimbatore’s Irugur early Friday by Singanallur police on charges of smuggling banned tobacco products from Karnataka’s Bengaluru. Bangalore: Youth From Kerala Held For Drug Peddling, Drugs Worth Rs 11 Crore Seized

According to a report in The Times Of India, The accused have been identified as L Govind (28) and L Mullaram (28), Vasudevan (65) and P Thilakraj (35). While Govind and Mullaram are natives of Rajasthan, Vasudevan and Thuilakraj are residents of Coimbatore’s Ganapathy neighbourhood. The Rajasthani duo ran a tobacco business in the Karnataka capital. Vasudevan performed the role of a local supplier and Thilakraj is a driver.

Acting on a tip-off, the Singanallur police apprehended the four accused while they were transferring illegal tobacco products weighing 305 kg from a pick-up van to another vehicle at Irugur. The tobacco products and both vehicles were confiscated. The accused were later presented before a judicial magistrate court and sent to judicial custody.

There’s no ban on gutkha and other tobacco items in Bengaluru, an officer said. “But they are banned in our state. Hence, Mullaram and Govind wanted to sell them at a higher price here,” the report quoted the officer as saying.

This comes a month after the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of Mumbai Police raided a Mephedrone manufacturing unit running from a farmhouse in Kolhapur. The Anti-Narcotics Cell arrested a lawyer from Mumbai's Malad area in connection with the Mephedrone factory on November 18. Reportedly, The farmhouse is owned by a lawyer. Drugs Bust: Mumbai Police Arrest Lawyer for Allegedly Running Mephedrone Factory in Kolhapur Farmhouse

During the raid, 38.7 kg of raw material was seized. As per the police, Mephedrone worth Rs 19.35 crore could have been produced using seized raw material. ANC team also seized 39 liters of chemicals and other instruments, the value of which could be Rs 2.35 crore

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 18, 2021 04:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).