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Two people were arrested with around 3.5 lakh counterfeit cigarette sticks worth Rs 50 lakh in a raid carried out near Lahori Gate, police said on Sunday.
The two accused have been identified as Ankit and Ramjit. "We arrested a man named Ankit. Through him, we learned about a godown where the accused has stored an even larger quantity of counterfeit cigarettes. As we raided the godown, we arrested a man named Ramjit. The cigarettes, which were counterfeited in large numbers, were branded as Gold Flake, Marlboro, etc. As we began the calculations of the quantity, it came to about 3.5 lakh cigarette sticks, and the total value of the goods was around Rs. 50 lakhs. The accused are primarily involved in stocking and selling cigarettes," DCP (North) Raja Banthia said. According to a police official, the accused has revealed that have been doing this business for about 2-2.5 years. "We are investigating the forward and backward linkages regarding these fake cigarettes, including how they buy the cigarettes, who they sell them to, and how much they have sold so far. These are basically spurious goods with no proper quality control, and are hazardous as well. We will accordingly investigate the forward and backward linkages. As soon as we learn more about the supplier, manufacturer, and distributor, more arrests will be made," he said. Further investigation is underway. (ANI)
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