Fake bidi, cigarette racket busted; goods worth Rs 3L seized

Ahmedabad: The Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) on Tuesday registered a case in connection with an alleged counterfeit bidi and cigarette racket, while the Special Operations Group (SOG) launched a probe after seizing suspected fake tobacco products worth Rs 3.57 lakh from Juhapura area of the city.According to the complainant, a long-time representative of a bidi manufacturing company, he was responsible for identifying and reporting instances of counterfeit products in the market. Acting on prior inputs, officials had earlier this month raided a residential premises in the Juhapura.During the search, police recovered a large quantity of bidis and cigarettes of various brands stored in boxes and plastic bags, along with empty packaging materials. Investigators suspected the products to be counterfeit as the occupants failed to produce valid purchase bills or supporting documents.Representatives of multiple companies later inspected the seized goods and reportedly found major discrepancies in packaging, printing quality, tobacco content and product size compared to genuine items. Variations in holograms and labels further strengthened suspicions that the goods were fake and illegally manufactured.Samples of the seized products have been sent for detailed verification.The complaint stated that the accused were allegedly manufacturing and storing counterfeit tobacco products for sale as genuine brands, despite knowing the potential health risks posed to consumers.Based on preliminary findings, DCB police registered a complaint under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Copyright Act. Investigators are now trying to determine the scale of the racket and identify others who may be linked to the operation.
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