The Sindh police on Tuesday foiled a major smuggling attempt and seized Indian gutka worth millions of rupees in Karachi.

The Gulshan-e-Maymar police station of District West, acting on a crucial tip-off, apprehended two culprits on the Northern Bypass, according to the Sindh police.

The individuals in custody have been identified as Hafeezullah and Ali Ahmed.

Upon searching the suspect’s vehicle, the authorities discovered 1,017 packets of the Indian gutka concealed within 20 sacks.

Furthermore, the police uncovered six counterfeit number plates (three pairs) stashed in the vehicle, revealing a sophisticated strategy used by the accused to facilitate their illegal activities.

It has come to light that the arrested individuals frequently employed various fraudulent number plates on their vehicles to avoid detection while engaging in smuggling operations.

A case has been formally registered against the detained suspects, and further investigations are underway to delve deeper into their illegal activities.

In addition, the police have confiscated both the vehicle used in the smuggling attempt and the fake number plates.

Notably, one of the apprehended individuals, Ali Ahmed, has a history of criminal activities and had previously been arrested for smuggling in Jamshoro and Nawabshah.

Earlier in April this year, then Sindh police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon directed the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) chief to form a committee for interviewing oral cancer patients at hospitals to help with cracking down on vendors of gutka, mawa, mainpuri and other harmful substances.

He had directed the officials, especially the Karachi DIG CIA, to form teams for interviewing oral cancer patients at hospitals, following which operations would be conducted against the vendors identified by them.