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– Photo : Amar Ujala
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Noida Sector-20 Kotwali police has arrested three people selling banned e-cigarettes. 2500 e-cigarettes worth Rs 1 crore have been recovered on the information given by the accused. Police is searching for the kingpin of the sale along with searching for other members of the gang in the case.
A few months ago, Sector-39 Kotwali police of Noida had exposed an interstate gang smuggling banned e-cigarettes from China via Nepal. On a tip-off, the police arrested two smugglers of the gang from near Sector-41-42 cut.
Noida Zone DCP Vidyasagar Mishra had said that both the accused used to take consignment of e-cigarettes from mastermind Rinku based in Nepal and bring it to Delhi-NCR by road. Both of them were carrying the consignment of e-cigarettes from Nepal to Rohini (Delhi) when they were arrested.
The gang of smugglers is operating from Nepal. In Nepal, the kingpin Rinku orders banned e-cigarettes from China and stocks them in Nepal and from there smuggles them to many states and cities of India. Rinku gives information about who to deliver the e-cigarettes to in Delhi to the smugglers associated with the gang only after reaching Delhi. The accused always keep changing routes for smuggling.
The price is from four to eight thousand
The price of e-cigarettes recovered from the smugglers ranges from four to eight thousand rupees. Both the smugglers used to buy one e-cigarette from Nepal for two and a half to four thousand rupees. After this, they used to sell each e-cigarette in NCR for six to eight thousand rupees. E-cigarettes were made available to expensive bars, clubs and youth. Youth are targeted for sale. Information has also been received about e-cigarettes being supplied to students of many reputed universities of Noida.
The routes to Pilibhit and Khatima bring
The arrested smugglers told that they bring the banned e-cigarettes to Delhi-NCR through Pilibhit and Khatima. There are smugglers of the gang around Pilibhit and Khatima too and they are paid some money for this. Now the police is finding out the places where e-cigarettes are consumed. At the same time, they are finding out about the gang’s active agents in Noida-Delhi.
This is an e-cigarette
E-cigarettes are a type of electronic nicotine delivery system device. This device runs on battery and delivers nicotine to the body. E-cigarettes are not filled with tobacco like normal cigarettes and neither do they need to be lit to smoke. Many e-cigarettes do not even emit smoke when smoked.
Instead of tobacco, a cartridge is filled with liquid nicotine. When it is finished, the cartridge can be refilled. There is an LED bulb at the other end of the cigarette which lights up when you take a puff. This liquid nicotine heats up and turns into vapor. In this way, people who smoke e-cigarettes inhale vapor instead of smoke.