Delhi Police has busted rackets producing counterfeit medicines, food items, cosmetic products, and lubricant oil, and seized large quantities of such products in multiple raids, an officer said on Thursday.
On Tuesday, police arrested Pramod Kumar Gupta, 67, at Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station for allegedly manufacturing counterfeit medicines and cosmetics. After his arrest, a raid at a rented farmhouse in Bijwasan, south-west Delhi, led to the seizure of about 800 boxes of Fair & Lovely face cream, Veet hair removal cream, and 600 kg of stearic acid. The officer said that Mr. Gupta was also involved in producing spurious Betnovate-C ointment and, days before the raid, destroyed evidence by burning nearly 25 cartons containing nearly 27,000 Betnovate-C tubes. Mr. Gupta has been charged under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
In a separate case, police dismantled a racket involved in the sale of expired and misbranded Hershey products by arresting the alleged kingpin, Atul Jain, 55, from Tri Nagar, north-west Delhi. The investigation began after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) filed a complaint last year.
“Atul purchased products nearing expiry from middlemen in Mumbai at low prices. He then altered the expiry labels before selling them online and in physical markets,” the officer said.
