Around one tonne gutkha seized at Katpadi and Ranipet

Three persons were arrested after police seized around one tonne of gutka during vehicle  checks near Katpadi and Kaveripakkam towns in Vellore and Ranipet districts on Sunday.

Police said the arrested persons were identified as J. Vikram Pandey (30), a native of Rajasthan, M. Krishnan (24), a resident of Bengaluru, and Mohammed Kasim (43), a native of Chennai.

In the first incident, police said that during routine vehicle searches near the police check post at Christianpet near Katpadi in Vellore, the team stopped a SUV that was driven by Pandey. As he gave contradictory answers about the purpose of travel, police got suspiciousand checked the vehicle where they found around 400 kg of gutka.

The consignment was heading to industrial towns like Sriperumbudur and Oragadam in Kancheepuram where the banned product will be sold to retail dealers. A case was registered by Katpadi police. In a similar incident, a police team was conducting a surprise vehicle check at Kaveripakkam on Chennai - Bengaluru Highway (NH 48). They stopped a lorry, which was coming from Bengaluru to Chennai. Police checked the vehicle and found around 600 kg of gutka.

A case was registered by Kaveripakkam police. Arrested persons were lodged at the Central prison in Vellore. A probe is underway.