Illegal e-cigarette racket busted in southeast Delhi; one held

The Delhi Police has busted an illegal e-cigarette trafficking racket, arresting one person and seizing a large consignment of prohibited electronic nicotine delivery systems in southeast Delhi, an official said on Wednesday.

Police intercepted a scooty-borne suspect, identified as Aman Ansari (31), on January 6. During a search, six e-cigarettes were recovered from his possession, he said.

During questioning, Ansari allegedly told investigators that he was working as a distributor for a larger syndicate and was being paid a monthly salary ranging between Rs 25,000 and Rs 30,000 to manage storage and supply, a senior police officer said.

He also disclosed that the prohibited e-cigarettes were being sold at prices ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 per unit, he said.

“Following sustained interrogation, the accused allegedly disclosed the location of a godown used for storing illegal e-cigarettes. A police team subsequently conducted a raid at the premises in Sant Nagar area of East of Kailash, leading to the recovery of a large quantity of banned items,” the officer said.

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The total seizure included 749 units of e-cigarettes of various brands and flavours, 145 refill cartridges and 278 filters, intended for illegal distribution across Delhi-NCR, police said.

A case has been registered under the relevant sections of the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act, 2019.

Further investigation is underway to identify other members of the network and trace the source and supply chain of the banned products, police added.

Police said the accused, a resident of Taimoor Nagar in southeast Delhi, has no previous criminal involvement.