PAKISTAN
A police raid shut down two gutka producing factories in Sukhan, a locality in Malir, early November. Gutka is a chewable form of tobacco made from crushed areca nut, tobacco, paraffin wax, and flavoring. Hundreds of thousands of rupees worth of Gutka and machinery were seized during the raid.
Malir’s senior superintendent of police said, “Eleven people have been arrested and an inquiry will be initiated against the involved officials.” Last November police seized huge quantities of gutka during raids in different areas in Karachi, following an October 1, 2017 ban on the sale and use of sheesha, gutka, and mainpuri.
On October 20 the Sindh High Court directed the local administration to continue its crackdowns against the sale of addictive substances like gutka, mawa, and mainpuri.