Banned tobacco products worth ₹7 crore seized in Ernakulam; seven held

You don’t have any Active Subscription.

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

The Ernakulam Rural police seized banned tobacco products worth around ₹7 crore from Keezhmad in Aluva and arrested seven persons.

The arrested are alleged kingpin Ayub, 40, of Uliyannoor in Aluva, and Jagaram, 22, Narpat Lal, 28, Bawar Ram, 20, Anil Kumar, 19, Bavesh Kumar, 19, and Swaroop Ram20, all natives of Rajasthan.

The contraband was seized in a midnight raid conducted on Wednesday (November 4, 2026) at a warehouse in the Chakkamkulangara area of Fourth Mile, Keezhmad, based on a confidential tip-off received by District Police Chief (Ernakulam Rural) K.S. Sudarsan. Banned tobacco products were allegedly found stacked in sacks inside the godown.

The investigation team was led by Mr. Sudarsan and included Narcotics Cell DySP C. Binukumar, Aluva DYSP Baiju Paulose, Circle Inspector P.M. Shameer, and Edathala Station House Officer S.S. Sreelal, among others.

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.