Mumbai, Mar 24: A four-member gang was sent into police custody till March 27 for allegedly black marketeering three truckloads of masks worth Rs 15 crore, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said here on Tuesday.
Owing to the COVID-19 spread, people scurried to buy masks and hand sanitizers in excess for shielding themselves from the pandemic.
Hence, the markets have been wiped off these commodities thus creating a void for sub-standard products made or smuggled by profiteers.
Briefing media persons, the Minister stated, “The masks were being hoarded by the gang and were intended for sale in the black market. The seizure includes over 3,25,000 N-49 masks, plus others of different varieties.”
Acting on a tip-off received by the Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh last week, a trap was set by the senior Inspector (Crime) Mahesh Desai who posed as a customer and finally managed to bust the gang by raiding locations in Mumbai and Thane.
“While four persons have been arrested, the police are on the lookout for two absconders,” he apprised. (UNI)
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