Delhi: Police busted a racket of adulterated foreign food items, seized goods worth crores.:

News Topical, Digital Desk : The Cyber Cell of Delhi Crime Branch has busted a large and organised gang which was illegally importing expired international branded food items into India and selling them in the market after changing their expiry and manufacturing dates.

The seizure of expired and adulterated food and beverages worth approximately ₹43 million (approximately $43 million) was also reported. This included large quantities of baby food and everyday items, which posed a serious threat to public health.

The police had received intelligence

The Delhi Police Crime Branch received a tip-off that some individuals were importing expired or soon-to-expire food products from abroad at extremely low prices. Subsequently, raids were conducted in the Pahadi Dhiraj and Faizganj, Sadar Bazaar areas. During the operation, seven accused, including the mastermind of the racket, were arrested, and a large quantity of expired goods was recovered from shops and warehouses.

The accused made important revelations during the investigation

Delhi Police called a team from the Food Safety Department to the scene and collected samples. Investigation revealed that the accused had been repackaging these products imported from foreign countries by printing fake barcodes, batch numbers, and new expiry dates on them.

These were then supplied nationwide through large retail stores, malls, and e-commerce platforms. The raid also recovered entire printing and packing units, machinery, chemicals, and fake labels.

A whole consignment of counterfeit products was found during the raid.

The Delhi Police raids included items from well-known foreign brands such as biscuits, chocolates, chips, soft drinks, coffee, sauces, ketchup, and condiments. A total of 43,762 kg of food and 14,665 liters of beverages were seized.

A case has been registered in this matter under relevant sections at the Crime Branch police station. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police is conducting raids to search for those involved in this syndicate, and more arrests are likely soon.