Delhi Police bust fake masala factories, 15 tonnes of spurious spices made using wood dust, acid seized

The spicesthatyou add to your delicious delicacies for that extra flavour may not be genuineat all.Delhi police have busted manufacturing units in the northeasternpart ofthe city producing spurious spices, including corianderpowderand turmeric powder.A whopping 15 tonnes of‘fake masala’was seized from at least two factories in the Karawal Nagar area. Three people have alsobeen arrestedin this case.

The Delhi Crime Branch earlier received inputs about these manufacturing facilities thatwere producing and selling adulterated and duplicate spices of popular brands.

Following continuous monitoring, police raided the facilities on May 1 and arrested two people—Dilip Singh alias Bunty and Khurshid Malik—from the spot.

They tried to escape butdidn’tsucceed. Later, during interrogation, Singh confessed that hewas the owner ofthe plant and Malik used to supply spuriousspices to the market.

Based on the interrogation, police raided another facility on Kali Ghata road in the same area, from where a third personwas arrested, named Sarfaraz. Police caught him red-handedmakingadulterated spices.

The recoveries included rotten leaves and rice, spoiled millets, wood dust, chilli heads, acids and oils used in producing counterfeit products, said Rakesh Paweriya, DCP (crime branch).

Watch:India investigates spice contamination after global recalls

The two facilities were“producing adulterated turmeric using non-edible and banned substances such as spoiled leaves, rice, millets, wood dust, chilli heads, acids, and oils,"the DCP was quoted as saying.

"The Department of Food & Safety was informed, which conducted inspections, collected samples of the recovered adulterated spices from both factories. Accordingly, a case was registered under relevant sections of the law, and all three accused were arrested,"added DCP Paweriya.

Police said some shopkeepers in the area are also suspectedto be apart of this network.

During interrogation, Singh saidthathe had set up the factorybackin 2021 to make more profits.He said Malik later joined his business and purchased a tempo for supplying the fake supplies to shopkeepers.

Police said an investigation is underway in the caseandall three suspects havebeen remandedto judicial custody.

This development comes amidst increased international scrutiny of popular Indian spice brands. Hong Kong and Singapore even banned some Indian brands after allegedly detecting carcinogenic ingredients in them.

(With inputs from agencies)