New Delhi, Nov 7 (PTI) A cigarette-smuggling syndicate, which sourced contraband from Myanmar, operating between Assam and Delhi, was busted with the arrest of four people, police said on Friday.
Police recovered prohibited cigarettes worth Rs 31 lakh, they said.
The accused have been identified as Santosh (53), a resident of Sultanpuri; Mantosh (43), a resident of Narela; Waseem alias Badshah (46) from Naya Bans; and Kishore (44) from Assam’s Guwahati, they said.
The probe revealed that the syndicate sourced contraband from Myanmar through the border town of Moreh in Manipur. The cigarettes were then concealed among legitimate goods and transported through Imphal, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Assam before being sent to Delhi.
The accused, police said, operated a well-organised supply network linking Assam-based suppliers and Delhi receivers through fake identities, digital payments, and transport channels.
According to the police, acting on a tip-off about the movement of a large consignment of prohibited cigarettes from Assam, a team intercepted a truck at Mori Gate on October 28.
“On checking, the team recovered 2.22 lakh prohibited cigarettes of two brands. The packets were found without mandatory health warnings or packaging details, violating provisions of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA),” a senior police officer said.
The truck driver, identified as Santosh, was apprehended on the spot.
During the interrogation, he disclosed that he ran a transport firm, M/s Shiv Shakti Transport, and had been receiving assignments from Assam-based individuals through phone and online messaging.
The goods were unloaded by one of the trucks at the Bawana Industrial Area, secured by another truck, and delivered to Mori Gate under the instructions of the handlers, the police said.
CCTV footage and technical surveillance led to the arrest of co-accused Mantosh, who allegedly acted as the Delhi contact for a Guwahati-based transporter, M/s Double Dynamic SR Transportation.
The police stated that Mantosh was in touch with Kishore in Assam, who arranged the shipments.
Further investigation led to tracing the Assam-based truck used to move the cigarettes from Guwahati to Delhi. The truck driver, Irshad (25), was found to be unaware of the nature of the cargo. Based on his statement and digital evidence, Kishore was arrested in Assam, the officer said.
Kishore later revealed that the consignment was meant to be delivered to Waseem alias Badshah, who was subsequently arrested.
The police said Waseem admitted to receiving and selling prohibited cigarettes in Delhi for profits ranging between Rs 5,000 and Rs 8,000 per carton.
Police seized two trucks, one from Assam and another from Delhi, along with the contraband worth Rs 31 lakh.
Further investigation is underway to identify other members of the network and trace its financial links, the officer added. PTI SSJ ANM HIG
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