Fake toothpaste manufacturing unit busted

The police busted a counterfeit toothpaste manufacturing unit operating in outer Delhi’s Khanjawala area and arrested its owner, an official said on Friday.

Acting on a tip-off, a team on Thursday raided a godown in Mahaveer Vihar and seized a large quantity of fake toothpaste, empty tubes, packaging material, machines, adhesive tapes bearing the brand name, glue, heating guns and raw materials, the official said.

“The seized goods, worth several lakhs, posed serious health risks due to unhygienic manufacturing conditions,” a senior police officer said.

“During the operation, six labourers were seen filling locally prepared paste into tubes of a reputed toothpaste brand. The labourers told the police that the unit was run by one Hari Om Mishra, a resident of Rohini,” the officer said.

He said Mishra (58), was arrested and running the illegal unit from a rented premises without a licence, bills or authorisation documents.

The police said they recovered around 1,800 filled fake toothpaste tubes, along with over 10,000 empty tubes and over 1,200 packed tubes. Around 130 kg of blue-coloured paste stored in drums was also seized, the police said.

A case has been registered, and a probe is underway.