Surat: A massive stockpile of banned Chinese kite string (manja) has been seized from a godown in Surat. After busting a manufacturing unit earlier, the police have now uncovered a secret storage facility containing the prohibited string, with a market value of ₹1.84 crore.

During the raid, LCB Zone-4 officials recovered 1,23,120 bobbins of Chinese manja packed in 1,710 boxes. Each bobbin is estimated to be worth ₹150.

According to officials, the manja was manufactured at a unit and later packed and stored in the godown for further distribution. Despite a ban on Chinese manja in India due to its hazardous nature, police suspect it was also being sold online. It has also come to light that, to avoid getting caught, the boxes were marked “for industrial use only.” These Chinese kite strings were being sold in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, and other cities of Gujarat. The police are currently awaiting an FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) report to proceed further.

Earlier, on April 6, a manufacturing unit of Chinese manja was busted in the Marutinagar area of Pandesara in Surat. Two individuals were detained, and the factory was sealed. The investigation into the illegal production and distribution of Chinese manja is ongoing. DeshGujarat