Uttarakhand: Fake cigarette racket busted, STF confiscated 22 thousand packets; Tax evasion worth crores exposed
Fake cigarette racket has been busted in Doon. Uttarakhand Police’s Special Task Force (STF) has busted an organised gang selling counterfeit cigarettes and recovered 22 thousand one hundred packets of fake cigarettes. The operation has revealed that huge amount of money is being defrauded from government revenue by manufacturing fake products. The gang was being operated from Delhi and Muzaffarnagar, due to which STF teams have also been dispatched to other states.
Senior Superintendent of Police STF Navneet Bhullar said that this racket was busted when Lancer Network Company’s manager Anukalp Singh informed the STF that fake packets of Gold Flake and other branded cigarettes were being sold illegally in Dehradun and surrounding areas.
Tax evasion of crores also exposed, raid conducted on company’s complaint
Based on the information, a joint team of STF, local police and company representatives was formed under the leadership of Deputy Superintendent of Police Ankush Mishra, which raided the warehouse of Nishant Traders in Jakhan area. The cigarette packets recovered during the raid had the Gold Flake brand label on them. However, during the investigation, the company representatives clarified that all these packets were fake. Fake barcodes, brand logos and health warnings were copied exactly on the packets so that they could be sold to consumers as original.
Tax evasion worth crores
Initial investigation by STF has revealed that this racket operates from Delhi and Muzaffarnagar and is supplied to many parts of Uttarakhand. Wholesalers buy fake goods at cheap prices and sell them to retail shops at high prices by calling them original brands and all transactions are done in cash so that tax evasion can be done.
Clampdown on organized gang, raids will continue
According to SSP STF, this is an organized criminal gang whose roots may be connected to other states and possibly international networks as well. At present, interrogation of persons associated with the gang is going on and raids are being conducted in other parts of the state as well.
