The police on Saturday and Sunday conducted searches at shops in Burma Bazaar and Anna Nagar and seized electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). They also arrested six persons.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Flower Bazaar, Shreya Gupta said the Centre had banned e-cigarettes and possessing these and other similar devices was a violation under the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarette Act. “We had received information that some youngsters were using ‘vapes’, another name for e-cigarettes. So, we conducted a drive to curb the sale of the banned products. Most people are not aware of the ban, and our drive was meant to spread awareness about it,” she said.
A special team, led by Assistant Commissioner Srikant, conducted the searches in Anna Nagar and Burma Bazaar. They arrested two persons in Anna Nagar and four in Burma Bazaar for the alleged possession and sale of e-cigarettes. A total of 1,312 foreign-made e-cigarettes were seized from the six persons.
The shopkeepers sourced the gadgets from Chinese and Malaysian manufacturing units, and they retailed for ₹2,500-₹3,000 per piece, the officer said.
