Fake tobacco unit busted in Bhubaneswar, 3 held

Bhubaneswar:  The special squad of Commissionerate police on Saturday busted a fake tobacco products manufacturing unit at Mahadevnagar near Jharpara here in Bhubaneswar and arrested three persons in connection with the incident.

The crackdown is part of the ongoing drive by police to put a check on the manufacture and sale of adulterated products in the Twin City of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

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Senior officials informed that the factory was engaged in producing fake tobacco products for the last six months. Packets, labels of several branded companies and other packing materials have been seized from the spot.

As the duplicate tobacco packets are being sold at much lower rates compared to original ones in the market, various unscrupulous traders are encouraging the sale to  get more profits.

A well organised racket seems to be behind the illegal trade as the fake products were being sold through several agents to pre-identified shops in different parts of the State.

Kailash Singh Chauhan, GM Gopal Group informed that the raw materials worth nearly Rs 4 to 5 lakh has been seized while the cost of finished products would have been Rs 20 lakh in the market.

"We were getting complaints regarding quality of our products and by such illegal activities, the company as well as the State exchequer was incurring tax losses," said Chauhan.

Earlier, a fake ghee manufacturing unit was also busted by Commissionerate police in Laxmisagar area while six persons were arrested in this connection in November last year.