Ahmedabad police bust illegal hookah bar, seize nicotine-laced flavours

The Sarkhej police have booked two men for allegedly running an illegal hookah bar in Makarba and serving customers nicotine-laced flavours in violation of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003.

According to the Sarkhej Police Station, the accused have been identified as Divyarajsinh Lalsinh Chavda (22), a resident of Gandhinagar, and Abdul Hamid (28), originally from Assam and residing in Sarkhej. Police said the duo operated the establishment under the name New Roast Café, near Shri Ram Morts in Sarkhej-Makarba.

On 24 May, acting on a tip-off, a surveillance team raided the café along with two panch witnesses. Officers found several customers smoking hookahs at the premises. The cafe manager failed to produce any licence or authorisation to operate a hookah bar.

During the raid, police seized multiple hookahs, pipes, charcoal and sealed packets of flavoured tobacco and samples were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Gandhinagar, which confirmed the presence of nicotine in the seized material.

Investigators said the accused were charging customers around ₹700 per hookah session, using nicotine-based flavours under the guise of herbal mixes. The FIR states that both Chavda and Hamid admitted to jointly managing the cafe for profit.

On August 29, Sarkhej police registered a case under sections of COTPA, 2003, which prohibit the advertisement, production, supply and distribution of tobacco products in unauthorised establishments after the reports from the Forensic department’s confirmation. Further investigation is underway to identify other individuals linked to the café’s operations.