Coimbatore: Police on Tuesday seized 2,610kg banned tobacco products from Annur and Somanur, and arrested four men in connection with the case.
Acting on a tip-off, the Annur police raided a warehouse on Sathi Road and seized 910kg banned tobacco products worth Rs 4 lakh from D Immanuvel, 53, of Annur. Police also arrested V Boopalan, 52, of Annur, the owner of the warehouse. Inquiry revealed that they had sourced the contraband from Thanaram of Somanur.
Subsequently, the police team, along with Karumathampatti police personnel, raided a rented building at Somanur and seized 1,700kg of banned tobacco products worth Rs 7 lakh from P Thanaram, 20, a native of Rajasthan. Police seized Rs 68,050 from the house and also arrested K Nandha Kumar, 46, of Somanur, who owns the building.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that Thanaram was working for Kishore Hattaji, 42, of Rajasthan, who has been supplying tobacco products to shops and individuals in the area. The products were brought from the northern part of the country in a container lorry. As the area has several transport offices, it did not arouse suspicions until recently,” a police officer said.
Police are on the lookout for Kishore. TNN