# Three held for selling vapes, banned cigarettes in Hyderabad 2026-08-19T14:59:45+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Three persons were arrested in Hyderabad for allegedly selling e-cigarettes and banned foreign cigarettes, following a raid by the Commissioner’s Task Force and Banjara Hills police. The accused were identified as Mohammed Muneer, 26, Abdul Rahman Meehraj, 25, both businessmen from Srinagar Colony, and Mohammed Eyas, 19, an employee at smokers.in. Police seized 53 vapes, 10 bottles of flavours and 76 boxes of foreign cigarettes worth Rs 2 lakh from the premises. The accused, natives of Kerala, reportedly told investigators they started the business after noticing demand for these products in the city. They allegedly procured the cigarettes from Mumbai for Rs 600-800 a box and sold them in Hyderabad for up to Rs 2,500. The sale, manufacture, import, distribution, transport, storage and advertisement of e-cigarettes are prohibited under the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act 2019 bans all e-cigarette products nationwide, with violations punishable by up to three years in jail and a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh. Hyderabad's task force has intensified raids in residential colonies where such products are often sold discreetly. The accused's supply chain from Mumbai suggests a wider network that police may now probe. Next: investigations will likely focus on the source of the foreign cigarettes and e-cigarettes. ## Coverage - thehindu.com Straightforward police report with no added editorial framing. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Hyderabad, Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act, Telangana Police Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/three-held-for-selling-vapes-banned-cigarettes-in-hyderabad/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/three-held-for-selling-vapes-banned-cigarettes-in-hyderabad/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/