Cops bust spurious scented tobacco making unit

Chandrapur: Ramnagar police from the city on Monday raided a farmhouse under Chichpalli police outpost and busted an adulterated scented tobacco making unit. Cops seized material and tobacco worth over Rs50 lakh and arrested three people in this connection.
Officials informed that the action was taken by a team led by SDPO Sheelwant Nandedkar and Ram Nagar PI Prakash Hake.
The accused, identified as Shamim Kamble, Shailesh Patel and Muhammad Abdul alias Shadaba Sheikh, were found making fake brand of Maza tobacco by mixing Maza, Eagle and Hukka brands at the unit on Valni-Chek Nimbala road.
Cops seized adulterated tobacco and other material worth over Rs50 lakh from the spot.
The facility had a machine to seal the mixed (adulterated) tobacco in boxes (tins) of Maza brand, which was then sold in the market illegally, said the sources.
Scented tobacco is banned in Maharashtra, still some brands are popular in the state. Cops said that scented tobacco was sold at a premium during lockdown due to large-scale demand in markets of Chandrapur and Ballarpur cities.