Illegal hookah bar busted in South Bopal office complex

The Special Operations Group (SOG) of Ahmedabad Rural Police has busted an illegal hookah bar operating from an office premises in South Bopal and seized hookah equipment and flavoured tobacco products worth over ₹10,000, officials said on Wednesday.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), the raid was conducted in the early hours of October 12, 2025, between 1.30 am and 3 am, at Office No. 311, B Block, Aarohi Galleria Complex, located in the South Bopal area. Acting on specific information, a team from the SOG found that the office was being used to run an unauthorised hookah bar by calling customers from outside for monetary gain.

Police identified the accused as Dhruv alias Kano Manishbhai Brahmbhatt (27), who introduced himself as the manager of the premises. During the raid, officers found customers consuming hookah inside the office, which had been converted into a lounge-like setup with sofas, curtained glass walls and hookah equipment placed openly in the hall.

“One customer told police that he was charged ₹700 per hookah, while another person was found handling coal and assisting in the operation,” an officer said. The accused failed to produce any licence or legal permission to run a hookah bar, police added.

A search of the premises resulted in the seizure of 18 packets of different-flavoured hookah substances, hookah bases, clay chillums, pipes, filters, coconut charcoal packets, and other accessories. The total value of the seized items was estimated at ₹10,200, police said.

Initially, the accused claimed that the flavours were herbal and did not contain nicotine. However, samples were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Ahmedabad, for analysis. As per the FSL report dated November 29, 2025, the presence of nicotine was confirmed in several samples, establishing a violation of tobacco control laws.

Based on the findings, Bopal Police Station registered a case under section of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2017, which regulates the production, supply and distribution of tobacco products.

Police said further investigation is under way to ascertain whether similar illegal operations were being run elsewhere and to identify others involved in the racket.