Counterfeit tea factory busted in Odisha’s Balasore, fake brand labels seized 

Police on Friday busted a factory in Odisha that was allegedly engaged in the manufacturing and selling of counterfeit tea by fraudulently using the labels of several well-known brands from across the country.

Several repeated complaints had flagged the matter including petitioners like Tata Tea, following which the Delhi High Court had ordered a crackdown. A special team in coordination with local police then raided the spurious tea packaging factory near Agrawala Chowk along National Highway 60 under Jaleswar police station limits in Balasore district.

Reports stated that during the operation, counterfeit tea branded with logos of reputed companies was found to be sold.

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The operation also revealed that local tea was purchased at low prices from the market and packaged with the logos of well-known brands.

Sources also added that the factory was operating from a rented place under the guise of an auto parts shop, with a signboard displayed outside to keep it away from suspicion. However, counterfeit tea packaging activities were underway.

Following the raid, authorities seized packaging machines and polythene bags printed with logos of various tea companies, mostly of well-known brands. Additionally, the unit also manufactured tea that carried labels with brand trademarks.

Meanwhile, Ramchandra Bhuyan, owner of the factory, claimed that companies mostly objected to the use of specific words in their packaging and demanded a complete stop to the same.

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“Objections were only raised to the use of promotional words like ‘gold’ and ‘premium’ in our tea. We have been selling the tea for the last 2-3 years,” he stated.