Chennai: Pan-city raids crack down on panmasala, mawa hoarders

Chennai: In a pan-city operation stretched over two days, city police cracked down on manufacturers and hoarders of the banned pan masala, mawa (tobacco mixed with limestone) and other chewing tobacco products. The raids which began on Wednesday continued for over 48 hours at the end of which, as many as 421 persons were arrested in the city, according to city police. Over 600 cases were registered under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) and 12, 305 packets of pan masala and mawa  were seized.

While the crackdown on sellers of banned tobacco products was underway in the city for over two months now, this is the first instance of a planned operation executed simultaneously across the city.

“We have intensified against the sale of banned narcotic substances. Operations like these are expected to continue in the coming days too,” a senior police officer said. 

“286 cases were booked in the west zone comprising Anna Nagar, Ambattur and Pulianthope police districts in which 113 persons were arrested. Similarly, the south zone police comprising Adyar, T Nagar and St Thomas Mount police districts arrested 225 persons and more than 8,000 packets of banned tobacco were seized,” a police officer said. 

As a part of the preventive measure, petty shop owners have been called for a meeting at many parts in the city by the jurisdiction inspectors to sensitise them about the ban on the sale of these items and punishments attached, police  said.