Tobacco sellers now use kids to sell banned gutkha

Police have deployed decoys to check illegal sale

Gone are the days when someone could buy a packet of gutkha or a packet of ‘maava’ (powedered tobbaco) easily. With police raids intensifying, regular stockists are now afraid to sell the banned substances in their shops. The sellers have now roped in school drop outs to sell the addictive substance for a higher price in some pockets of the city, say police sources.

So far this year since January 1, over 1.85 lakh gutkha packets worth nearly ₹70 lakh have been seized. Over 2,300 persons have been arrested in this regard. Out of this nearly 1.60 lakh gutkha packets were seized from June 19 to August 27, said a police source.

Apart from this, over 9,000 kg of ganja have been seized from the beginning of this year from people selling the banned tobacco products. “The sale through shops has completely stopped. But there are reports of individuals selling them in the black market,” sources add.

According to food safety officers, a packet of gutkha now costs around ₹40, while it was priced much lower earlier. They feel this indicates that the supply of gutkha has definitely reduced compared to the demand. “Now, the shop keepers purchase the banned tobacco products from Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu border for normal price and then bring them in small quantity into the city,” said a food safety officer.

The gutkha is then put in smaller packets and then given to school dropouts in their locality. They stand near the shops and sell it to regular customers for a higher price. “The shop keeper earns up to ₹3,000 per day this way. Out of this, he gives a small percentage to the boys,” he added.

The police have now deployed decoys to check this illegal sale. “This is reported mostly in areas where there are migrant labourers. We have ensured that tobbaco is not sold near educational institutions,” explained a police officer. Food safety officers said that complaints of gutkha sale can be sent to their Whatsapp number 9444042322 or to the police control room 100.