24. Power of seizure and arrest in public places.- Any subordinate officer to the enforcement officer as is authorised in section 23 may-
(a) seize, in any public place or in transit, any goods, in relation to which he has reason to believe an offence punishable under Chapter VI has been committed, and, along with such goods, any conveyance liable to confiscation under this Act, and any document or goods which he has reason to believe may furnish evidence of the commission of an offence punishable under Chapter VI relating to such goods;
(b) detain and search any person whom he has reason to believe to have committed an offence punishable under Chapter VI, and, if such person has any Toxic Chemical or Precursor or any Discrete Organic Chemical phosphorous, sulphur or fluorine in his possession and such possession appears to him to be unlawful, arrest him and any other person in his company. Explanation.-For the purposes of this section, the expression "public place" includes any public conveyance, shop, hotel or other place intended for use by, or accessible to, the public.
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