Sulthan Bathery: Police on Friday seized 6,440 sachets of banned tobacco products, including 6,410 sachets of Hans and 30 sachets of pan masala, from a concealed cellar beneath a house and from vehicles parked on the premises during Operation Toofan, the ongoing anti-narcotics drive.

According to a police press release, a joint team of the District Anti-Narcotics Squad and the Sulthan Bathery Police conducted the raid at Dottappankulam around noon and arrested N Haris (39), the owner of the house.

Of the total seizure, 5,615 sachets were recovered from the hidden cellar, while 795 sachets were found in a car and a scooter parked in the portico of the house.

Police said the cellar had been cleverly concealed beneath a bedroom floor, with its entrance hidden under a movable shelf. They also seized a KL-11 BE-0087 car and a KL-56 Y-3418 scooter, from which part of the contraband was recovered.

The seizure comes barely a month after another major haul from the same locality. On June 7, police recovered 12,000 sachets of Hans and 1,800 packets of Cool Lip from a concealed cellar in another house at Dottappankulam.

Cool Lip is a flavoured smokeless tobacco product that is placed between the lip and gum, similar to snus or chewing tobacco. It delivers nicotine rapidly through the lining of the mouth, making it highly addictive.