Fake cosmetics worth Rs1 crore seized in raid on Ahmedabad warehouse

Think twice before you apply that cream on your face for, the Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) of Gujarat on Saturday raided a warehouse that stored duplicate cosmetics and recovered fake petroleum jelly, cold cream, shaving cream and toothpaste.

The value of the seized cosmetic is estimated to be about Rs1 crore. Talking about the raid at the warehouse, HG Koshia, Commissioner FDCA said, "We had received a complaint from Deesa town in Banaskantha that a grocery store owner was selling duplicate cosmetics. We inquired into the matter and found that the complaint was true. Then a team of officers from our department began tracking the supply of these cosmetics. They got the phone number of the supplier from the grocery store owner and we nabbed the supplier after tracing his address."

The FDCA caught Nilesh Shah, who is believed to be the main accused in the duplicate cosmetic business.

"It has been found that Shah does not have the mandatory license to manufacture cosmetic. Nearly 22 officers of FDCA traced the warehouse, which is located in the remote part of Aslali, and raided it. The warehouse is spread over 1500 sq. ft. area and we have found used stock of toothpastes, shaving creams, cold creams, petroleum jelly and drums full of cosmetic material. Around 28 products were recovered from the spot. The estimated value of the material is nearly Rs1 crore."

Koshia said that eight to 10 truckloads of material were seized. "We have collected the samples and sent it for testing. We are interrogating Shah, who lives in Paldi. He moved to Ahmedabad from Mumbai."