Mumbai Police Seizes 384 E-Cigarettes and 2,880 Pods Worth Rs 42 Lakh in Kalbadevi

The Mumbai Police's Crime Branch conducted a successful operation in Kalbadevi's Chira Bazaar, seizing a significant quantity of prohibited e-cigarettes and pods. The operation was carried out by the Property Cell and resulted in the arrest of one individual.

During the operation, the Property Cell seized a large quantity of prohibited JUUL e-cigarettes in the Chira Bazaar area. The operation took place near the Chira Bazaar bus stop on J.S.S. Road, as stated by an official.

The police said that during a routine patrol, police officers stopped a suspicious person and conducted a search. The searches revealed 384 JUUL devices (e-cigarettes) worth Rs 23,04,000, JUUL pods worth Rs 18,00,000, and one black e-bike worth Rs 1,00,000. The total value of the seized items is Rs 42,04,000.

Following the seizure, the police registered a case under The Prohibition of e-cigarettes Act, 2019. The case has been filed at LT Marg Police Station under sections 3, 4, and 7 of the Act. The investigation is ongoing by the Property Cell, Crime Branch, Mumbai.

The successful operation was carried out under the guidance of senior Mumbai Police officials. The team that made the seizures was led by Raj Tilak Raushan, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch (Detection), along with Sadanand Rane, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch. Key officers involved in the operation included Police Inspector Mangesh Desai, Police Inspector Dada Gaikwad, Senior Police Inspector Prataprao Bandgar, Police Constable Tushar Sawant, Police Constable Vinod Padman, Police Constable Tambe, Police Sub-Inspector Kolekar, Police Sub-Inspector Gadhve, Police Constable Babar, and Police Constable Burde.

Meanwhile, in a significant breakthrough against organized gold smuggling, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Mumbai, foiled a novel attempt to illegally import gold into the country through an international courier channel. Acting on specific intelligence, DRI officers seized 1.815 kg of foreign-origin gold valued at approximately Rs 2.89 crore from a courier consignment that arrived at the International Courier Terminal (ICT), Mumbai, from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

According to officials, the consignment was declared as a household appliance and contained a meat-grinding machine. However, a detailed examination of the parcel raised suspicion, prompting DRI officers to carry out a thorough inspection. Upon dismantling the meat grinder and breaking open its internal gear mechanism, officers recovered 32 cut pieces of gold of varying sizes that had been ingeniously concealed within the gear assembly. The concealment method was designed to evade conventional scanning and detection processes at courier terminals. The total quantity of gold recovered weighed 1,815 grams.