In New Delhi, police have dismantled a gang believed to be supplying counterfeit cigarettes, confiscating approximately 240,000 cigarette sticks, an official reported on Monday. Four individuals, identified as Parveen Singh (32), Puneet Gupta (35), Pawan Gupta (29), and Dilip Yadav (21), have been arrested. The raid took place in the Nilothi Extension area of West Delhi on October 9. During this operation, two suspects, Pawan Gupta and Dilip Yadav, were apprehended while transporting 14 cartons of counterfeit cigarettes, totaling around 160,000 sticks, as confirmed by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Vikram Singh. “The counterfeit nature of the cigarettes was verified on-site by a representative from ITC Limited,” the DCP stated.
Following interrogation, two additional suspects—Parveen Singh and Puneet Gupta—were arrested in the Chander Vihar Chowk area, where another vehicle containing eight cartons (80,000 cigarettes) of counterfeit products was also seized. In total, authorities recovered 240,000 counterfeit and illegal cigarettes from the suspects. A case has been filed under relevant sections of the BNS, Copyright Act, and the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) at the Crime Branch police station. Preliminary investigations indicate that the arrested individuals were part of a larger network involved in trafficking counterfeit cigarettes into Delhi, where they divided large shipments into smaller batches for distribution to street vendors and retailers in crowded market areas and near metro stations.
Police reported that Parveen Singh was a key local operative managing distribution, while Puneet Gupta coordinated sales and deliveries. Pawan Gupta oversaw the local supply chain in Nilothi and surrounding areas, and Dilip Yadav, the youngest member, served as a runner and storage handler.
