Hyderabad, Oct. 27 -- Telangana's EAGLE Force and Kushaiguda police arrested two people for allegedly selling banned e-cigarettes during a raid in Sainikpuri. As many as 39 vapes were seized.

Shop owner Ubais and his worker Ussainar PH, both natives of Kerala, were apprehended. Police suspect they are part of an interstate smuggling operation with financial transactions over Rs 10 crore.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Ubais received the banned vapes from his supplier named Arshad while working in Bengaluru. In July, Ubais came to Hyderabad with large stocks of e-cigarettes worth Rs 50,000. In September, another consignment arrived through Arshad.

Customers would place orders via WhatsApp, which were delivered through Rapido, ...