Crackdown: 35,000 bags of gutka seized

No arrest has been made so far.

LAHORE: Over 35,000 bags of gutka (processed and flavoured betel nut) have been confiscated in the city.

DCO Naseem Sadiq said that the operation was targeted at the supplying cartel but not its consumers. He said there had been no arrests but fines had been imposed on dealers caught purchasing the illegal substance. Officials said as many as 35 sacks were confiscated by 16 teams.  Pan Mandi, Anarkali, Samnabad, Ghulshan-i-Ravi, Bund Road and Mugalpura were among the areas raided by the police.

The sacks contained 100 to 120 packets. The biggest lot was confiscated from the railway station, where 18 sacks were confiscated.

City officials believe that most of the gutka supplied to Lahore comes from Karachi and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).



CDGL officials said that gutka did not arrive in Lahore in one big consignment. They said typically people travelling frequently between Karachi and Lahore carried 10 to 100 packets.

Once in Lahore, these packets are then distributed to dealers across the city, officials said.

Sadiq said gukta was also brought to the city on fruit and vegetable trucks from AJK.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 8^th, 2013.