Over the last few days, the Mumbai police have begun a crackdown on e-cigarettes or vapes and have registered four cases against shopkeepers in the city in the last 24 hours. Officers confirmed that the famous Muchchad Paanwala has also been booked. An officer said that there is a lack of awareness among people that vapes or e-cigarettes that are used by them are banned in India. In September 2019, the Indian government had banned the production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement of all electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). A senior officer said, "We felt that the use of e-cigarettes had gone up in the city in spite of it being banned by the central government in 2019. Hence we have decided to take action against pan shops that are selling especially near school and colleges in an all-out operation." During the operation conducted by the Anti Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai Police in the 24-hour period between February 14 and 15, four cases against shopkeepers selling e-cigarettes, one against a hookah godown owner and a case linked to commercial use of a narcotic were filed. In the last case, the Kandivali unit of the ANC arrested a Nigerian national from whom the police said they recovered contraband worth Rs 15.8 lakh. An officer said that while taking action against e-cigarettes, when they were patrolling on Tuesday, they apprehended the Nigerian national moving about suspiciously near a school and junior college in Borivali (west). Upon searching him, the police found 55 gram of mephedrone and 12 gm of cocaine, together worth Rs 15.8 lakh, following which he was placed under arrest. An officer said that the action was especially against pan shops selling e-cigarettes near colleges and hospitals. He said that of the four FIRs registered against shops selling e-cigarettes, one of them belongs to the famous Mucchad Panwala in Khetwadi area where another shop was raided, one in central Mumbai and another in Juhu. The officer added that an FIR has been registered against 16 persons of whom 10 have been apprehended by the police while six are shown as wanted. The officer added that nearly 947 e-cigarettes worth Rs 13.65 lakh, 699 gutkha packets worth Rs 4.5 lakh and cocaine worth Rs 15.8 lakh have been seized by the ANC.
