Fake cigarettes of popular brands are being smuggled in from foreign countries and sold as originals for a tidy profit.
A multi-crore racket in counterfeit cigarettes is flourishing in the city, a recent police investigation has revealed. Fake cigarettes of popular brands are being smuggled in from foreign countries and sold as originals for a tidy profit.
Last week, authorised representatives of Philip Morris Products SA along with technical experts from Malaysia approached Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone I) Brijesh Singh and told him about the counterfeit cigarettes of their company being sold in south Mumbai.
“They told us to take legal action against those who sell counterfeit products of their company. So, we raided several shops in south Mumbai and arrested three persons involved in the racket,” said Singh.
The arrested men are Mohammad Ashraf Jaffer Shaikh, 38, Lakhankumar Tiwari, 30, and Mofid Khan, 25. Police said Shaikh was the kingpin of the racket and a wholesaler of fake cigarettes while the others were retailers.
“Shaikh told us he had bought the cigarettes from Malaysia and given a consignment of 550 cartons of fake Marlboros to Tiwari and Khan for sale,” Sub-Inspector Anil Dhole said. The men have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Trademark Act.
Singh said the racket of fake cigarettes is booming across the city. “The cigarettes are not only being smuggled into India but across the globe,” he said. “It’s a multi-crore business, where the profit margin is tremendous. For instance, if the MRP of one packet of Marlboros is Rs90, the racketeers get the fake packets at Rs50 each.”
Police said Mohammad Shaikh told them during interrogation that passengers are used by the racketeers to smuggle fake cigarettes into the city.
“Shaikh was in touch with passengers who used to frequently visit Malaysia on business and bring fake cigarettes from there and sell them to him,” said an officer of the Palton Road police station, who requested anonymity.
s_somendranath@dnaindia.net
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