40 smuggling beedi bundles seized; 3 held

Ramanathapuram, Feb 19: Three people were arrested for attempting to smuggle 40 bundles of beedi to Sri Lanka early today.

A top intelligence official told UNI that during routine surveillance along the Ramanathapuram coastline, a squad of Tamil Nadu 'Q' branch police wing found three people attempting to load some bundles in a fibre glass boat from a van and an auto rickshaw parked near the Nachiyurani seashore.

During the check, the sleuths found 40 beedi bundles in the boat meant for smuggling to the Island nation.

The trio Marudu Pandi, hailing from Madurai district, Karuppaiah and Ayyasamy from Nachiyurani area in Ramanathapuram, were arrested.

The boat operator, however, managed to escape, he added.

UNI