Authorities have raided a godown and seized 341 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders valued at Rs 7.86 lakh which were stored and kept for sale illegally in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Monday.

A probe indicated the godown owner and his two employees were operating the facility without the necessary permits and refilling non-subsidised gas cylinders for sale in the black market, an official from Shivaji Nagar police station in Ambernath said.

A joint operation by the district PDS (public distribution system) officials and the Shivaji Nagar police led to the seizure of the large quantity of filled and empty gas cylinders from the godown at Anand Nagar industrial area in Ambernath on Saturday, he said.

Besides the cylinders, a tempo and gas refilling equipment were also seized, the police said.

An FIR has been registered against the godown owner and his two employees under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Essential Commodities Act and the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order, 2000, they added.

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