In a major crackdown on food adulteration, the Delhi Police Crime Branch has uncovered a sophisticated international racket that was importing and selling expired food products from countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, and Dubai to premium retail stores across India. The police have arrested seven individuals and seized expired consumables worth a staggering Rs 4.3 crore.
The Scale of the Scam: A Multi-Crore Haul
During coordinated raids in Delhi's wholesale hub of Sadar Bazar, specifically in Pahari Dheeraj and Faiz Ganj areas, officials made a shocking discovery. They confiscated a massive quantity of expired food and beverages that were destined for the shelves of upscale markets. The seized items included 43,762 kilograms of food products, 14,665 litres of beverages, 6,047 kg of candies, biscuits, and wafers, and 23,050 kg of sauces, vinegars, and condiments.
The list of compromised brands reads like a who's who of international pantry staples: Oreo, Lipton, Ritz, Kelloggs, Fanta, Starbucks, Nescafe, Heinz, Hellmans, Kikkoman, Kewpie, Lindt, Nutella, Cadbury, Pringles, and Lays. Alarmingly, the haul also contained baby food, posing a severe risk to the most vulnerable consumers.
Modus Operandi: From Trash to Treasure
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Aditya Gautam explained the elaborate fraud. The mastermind, identified as 54-year-old Atal Jaiswal, operated through wholesale agents in Mumbai. These agents sourced consignments of food items that were either already past their expiry date or perilously close to it from foreign countries at "throwaway prices."
"By the time these consignments reached India, most of the products had already expired or become unfit for human consumption," DCP Gautam stated. Instead of disposing of them as required by law, the accused set up an illegal factory. Here, they engaged in systematic 're-manufacturing'.
The process involved:
- Altering the original manufacturing and expiry dates printed on packages.
- Changing product labels and information.
- Affixing fake barcodes, batch numbers, and Maximum Retail Price (MRP) stickers.
- Repackaging the items to give them the appearance of freshly imported stock.
Police recovered a full suite of equipment used for this forgery, including hand-held inkjet printers, sealing machines, chemicals, glue guns, and counterfeit barcode stickers.
Supply Chain to High-End Retailers
The tampered products were not sold in shady back alleys. The racket had infiltrated the supply chains of premium retail outlets. According to police, the adulterated goods were supplied in bulk to stores like Modern Bazaar, Nature’s Basket, and Food Story, as well as to major retail chains in prominent malls and various e-commerce platforms operating across India.
This allowed the accused to generate enormous illegal profits while deliberately endangering public health. The operation was launched by the Cyber Cell of the Crime Branch after receiving specific tip-offs about this network.
Alongside mastermind Atal Jaiswal, the other arrested individuals are Shiv Kumar (40) from Jharkhand; Bishwajit Dhara (25) from Delhi's Malviya Nagar; Vinod (43) and Arun Kumar (30) from Darbhanga, Bihar; Vijay Kant (50) from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh; and Shamim (30) from Etah, Uttar Pradesh.
The Delhi Government's Food Safety Department was called to the raid sites to collect samples for analysis as per protocol. A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Crime Branch police station. Investigations are ongoing to trace the complete supply chain, identify all retail and online buyers, and completely dismantle the network involved in this dangerous trade of expired and adulterated food products.
