One held for illegal manufacture of 'gutkha' with liability of around Rs 5.9 cr

Anti-Evasion officers of Central Tax Delhi have arrested a person allegedly for illegal manufacturing of 'gutkha' with a liability of around Rs 5.9 crores.

The person in charge of the illegal manufacture, one Phool Chand Yadav, admitted to his involvement in his statement and to his liability of approximately Rs 5.9 crores.

He was arrested on February 18, 2021, under section 132 of the CGST Act, 2017 and remanded in judicial custody, the Ministry of Finance said.

"Acting on intelligence regarding illegal manufacturing and clandestine supply of gutkha/pan masala/tobacco product namely "Suhana Gold" and "SHK" brands without registration and payment of duty, Anti-Evasion officers of Central Tax Delhi had conducted an operation which busted the racket and led to the arrest of one of the key persons on 02.01.2021," read a release by the Ministry of Finance.

"Development of further intelligence and consequent searches at multiple locations led to arrest of the two key operators on 16.02.2021," it said.

Follow up searches based on the leads in the investigation were conducted at multiple premises and another 5 FFS machines manufacturing "SHK" Gutka were found to be operational, the ministry said.

All 4 accused have been arrested so far and the investigation is under process.

( With inputs from ANI )