Adulteration racket busted, 25 tonnes of spices seized
New Delhi: In a significant crackdown ahead of the festive season, the Delhi Police Crime Branch has dismantled two spurious factories engaged in the production of adulterated spices in the Outer North District area, the officials said on Friday.
This operation has resulted in the seizure of 25 tonnes of fake cumin and black pepper seeds, along with approximately 40 tonnes of raw materials intended for creating these counterfeit spices.
The mastermind behind these illicit operations, Bagesh Gupta (39), has been arrested in connection with the case. The Delhi Police registered a case under invoking sections 420/272/273/34/120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Crime Branch Police Station.
Ravi Kumar Singh Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Outernorth Delhi stated that the operation was initiated based on secret information received by HC Raj Parkash, who had uncovered details about these illegal spice manufacturing units in the Outer North District area. The information was subsequently corroborated through human intelligence and technical surveillance.
Under the leadership of Inspector Sunil Kumar, a dedicated team was formed, consisting of SI Pankaj Kumar, ASI Dinesh Kumar, ASI Bholanath, HC Pushpadas, HC Mukesh Kumar, HC Raj Prakash, HC Sandeep, HC Harinder, HC Dhirendra, HC Gautam, W/Ct. Aditi, W/Ct. Varsha, and W/Ct. Vidhi. The team operated under the close supervision of ACP Pankaj Arora.
The operation saw the interception of a vehicle with registration number DL-1LJ-5004 in front of a warehouse located in Jindpur Village, Delhi. This vehicle was found to be carrying 25 bags of counterfeit spices, including 15 bags of fake cumin and 10 bags of black pepper seeds. Bagesh Gupta, the owner of the cargo, was found in the vehicle and subsequently admitted to the adulteration of the seized spices, Singh mentioned.
Later, a raid was conducted at a nearby godown, leading to the discovery of a substantial quantity of counterfeit cumin, black pepper seeds, raw materials, various spices, as well as tools and machines used in the adulteration process. Officials from the Department of Food & Safety, Government of NCT of Delhi, were summoned to the scene to collect samples and carry out further investigations. The recovered bags of fake spices, tools, machines, and raw materials were confiscated, the official said.
During the interrogation, Bagesh Gupta revealed that he had been involved in the adulteration of spices, particularly cumin and black pepper, for the past five years. He previously operated in Gujarat and relocated to Delhi two years ago. He sourced raw materials for adulterating spices from Kanpur and Rajasthan, subsequently distributing them in Delhi's Khari Baoli area, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat, Singh confirmed.
