3 arrested after 15 tonnes of fake masala seized in Delhi; wood dust, acid used in them

Delhi, May 6: In a shocking development, the Delhi Police has seized a staggering 15 tonnes of adulterated spices being manufactured at two factories in northeast Delhi's Karawal Nagar area and arrested three persons, including the owners of these processing units. This comes amid the dark clouds over Indian spice manufacturers by regulators in other countries.

Suspects Dilip Singh (46), Sarfaraj (32) - owners of the units - and Khurseed Malik (42) were supplying these adulterated spices to local markets and vendors in Delhi/NCR for the same price as the original products. The accused were supplying in Delhi/NCR to earn huge profits as per initial investigation.

The police found that rotten leaves and rice, spoiled millets, wood dust, chilli heads, acids and oils were used in producing the masalas.

"Acting on this information, a team was formed, resulting in raids on May 1. During the operation, Singh was found operating one of the processing units, where he was producing adulterated turmeric using non-edible and banned substances such as spoiled leaves, rice, millets, wood dust, chilli heads, acids, and oils." said the Rakesh Paweriya, DCP (crime branch).

"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 that both the unit owners, by producing adulterated spices, were not only cheating the public but also playing with their lives.

During interrogation, it was revealed that Singh and Sarfaraj had set up their units in 2021 to make more profit by producing adulterated spices, police said, adding that Malik had been involved in the sale and purchase of clothes before venturing into the adulterated spices business in 2019 and purchased a tempo for their supply.