A 35-year-old habitual offender has been detained for six months under the Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act for smuggling ration rice.
A team led by S. Senthil Vinayagam, inspector of police, Civil Supplies CID, Vellore district, nabbed Saravanan, a resident of Kuttigoundanur in Natrampalli taluk, his brother Sathish and accomplice Thangaraj during a vehicle check at Vellakalnatham Koot Road on National Highway 48 on July 8.
“Based on information, we were conducting a vehicle check at 10 p.m. when we stopped a van with Aavin’s label and two tailing cars. We found 4.5 tonnes of rice meant for the public distribution system being smuggled in the three vehicles, and nabbed the trio. They were arrested and remanded,” he said.
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A fake sticker of Aavin was pasted on the van. Following Saravanan’s arrest, Director-General of Police of Civil Supplies CID K. Radhakrishnan found that there were more than 10 cases of smuggling against him. In fact, he was detained under the Act during 2012 and 2015 in Krishagiri, he said.
Sonal Chandra, Superintendent of Police, Civil Supplies CID, recommended Saravanan’s detention under the Act to Vellore Collector S. A. Raman.