Hookah bar operating under guise of café busted in Hyderabad, 7 arrested

An illegal hookah bar operating under the guise of a café was raided in Hyderabad’s Bahadurpura area and seven people, including the owner and four customers, among others, were arrested, officials said on Thursday.
The South Zone Task Force, along with Bahadurpura Police, conducted a raid on ‘The Wolf Cafe & Lounge’, which was found serving hookah to customers, which was in violation of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA).
The owner of the café, identified as Mohammad Abdul Muzammil (26), had been offering hookah to customers with an exterior setting and branding of a café, police said.
Muzammil had been attracting customers with flavoured mixtures that contained nicotine, despite strict regulations against such activities. According to the police, Muzammil had been previously booked in a similar case earlier this year.
Apart from Muzammil, the other six accused have been identified as café manager Mohammad Furkan Ahmed (18), hookah flavour supplier Mohammad Nazeer (41), and four customers aged between 20 and 25 years, Sayed Zameer, Syed Sohail, Syed Fazal and Mohammad Mukkram.
As per the information, the police have seized 19 hookah pots, five boxes of hookah flavours (each box containing 50 grams), and six boxes of hookah coils. The total worth of the seized items is estimated at around Rs 30,000.
According to police, the main accused and café owner, Muzammil, was reportedly struggling with low profits in his coffee shop business and decided to offer illegal hookah services to increase revenue.
He sourced the hookah flavours from a supplier, Mohammad Nazeer, and charged customers higher rates for hookah pots mixed with nicotine-laced flavours, contravening the provisions of the COTPA.
Acting on a tip-off, the South Zone Task Force and Bahadurpura Police launched the operation, which resulted in the seizure of the illegal materials and the arrest of the individuals involved.
The accused and the seized items were handed over to the police, who have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), and Sections 6 and 7 of the COTPA. An investigation has been launched, the police added.