₹1.35 cr worth tobacco products seized from Kottayam warehouse
Excise officials seized 3,500kg of banned tobacco, worth ₹1.35 crore, from a Kottayam warehouse, leading to a major investigation involving two vehicles and suspects from Palakkad.
Excise officials seized 3,500kg of banned tobacco, worth ₹1.35 crore, from a Kottayam warehouse, leading to a major investigation involving two vehicles and suspects from Palakkad.
Excise officials seized 3,500kg of banned tobacco, worth ₹1.35 crore, from a Kottayam warehouse, leading to a major investigation involving two vehicles and suspects from Palakkad.
In a major crackdown, the excise department has seized 3,500kg of banned tobacco products from a warehouse at Illimoodu Junction in Pakkil, Kottayam. The contraband, packed in 220 large gunny bags, is estimated to be worth ₹1.35 crore in the illicit market. This marks the largest single haul of prohibited tobacco products in the district in recent times.
While the key suspects have been identified, they remain at large. Given that the culprits hail from other districts and the sheer volume of the seized contraband, the excise department has initiated procedures to hand over the investigation to the state police. Along with the illicit tobacco, officials confiscated two vehicles, including a mini-truck registered in Palakkad.
The warehouse was rented six months ago by individuals from Palakkad, who claimed they needed the space to store television sets and other electronic appliances. They agreed to a monthly rent of ₹20,000, which was paid promptly every month. Initially, they maintained a normal daytime routine, unloading electrical equipment to avoid suspicion. They even brought in poultry manure on one occasion to mask any unusual smell or activities. However, their operations gradually shifted entirely to the dead of night, typically between midnight and the early hours of the morning.
The breakthrough came after the excise department recently raided a local retail shop and seized a small consignment of Hans, a popular brand of banned chewable tobacco. Painstaking intelligence work traced the delivery vehicle back to the Illimoodu warehouse. When excise officials raided the site at 2 pm, they found the premises locked with a mini-truck parked outside. Scaling the wall with a ladder, officers peered through a high opening to find rows of stuffed gunny bags. After contacting the building owner, they broke open the shutters. Inside, they found a highly organised setup, complete with specialised stitching machines used to seal the sacks. Preliminary investigations suggest that the syndicate transported these bulk consignments from neighbouring states, distributing them to wholesale dealers who then targeted migrant workers and school pupils.
The successful operation was executed by a dedicated team comprising Excise Range Inspector A Akhil, Intelligence Inspector B Dinesh, and officers TS Suresh, Unnikrishnan, CK Anas, A Akhil, PJ Sunil, B Santhosh, and Philip Thomas.