Cracking down on the illegal sale of tobacco products, the police arrested 21 people, including five women, in raids conducted across the city.
Codenamed ‘Operation Chew,’ the raids targeted outlets that sold such products in the vicinity of schools at Nalanchira, Parottukonam, Nemom, Pachalloor, Nedumcadu, Pottakuzhy, and Ambalathara. Hundreds of packets containing the banned products were seized in the operation.
As part of the drive, a 42-year-old man, identified as Murali of Rishimangalam, was caught while allegedly selling tobacco products to schoolchildren near General Hospital. In similar cases, Shahul Hameed, 53, and Thulaseedharan, 49, were nabbed from near All Saints College and a school at Menamkulam respectively. The operation was held under the supervision of by District Police Chief (Thiruvananthapuram City) P. Prakash and led by Deputy Commissioner of Police R. Aadhithya.