Bhubaneswar: Kendujhar police has busted an organised racket involved in the manufacture and sale of fake lubricants and arrested four persons in this connection.
The accused persons were reportedly manufacturing and selling fake lubricants bearing the names of well-known brands Tata and Gulf, reports said.
Acting on information received from local shopkeepers regarding the suspected circulation of large quantities of fake lubricants, the Barbil police conducted raids at several locations. During the operation, 31 buckets of suspected counterfeit lubricant were seized from Jai Shree Shyam Lubricants, owned by Sohan Agrawal.
Another 80 buckets were recovered from Ujjala Motors, owned by SK Kalu, while 21 buckets were seized from Basanta Kumar Prosthi at Bhadrasahi.
Three separate cases were registered at Barbil police station in connection with the seizures. Two special police teams were subsequently formed to trace the source of the counterfeit products and identify the wider network involved in their manufacture and distribution.
During the investigation, police intercepted one Rekha Ram while he was allegedly transporting 50 buckets of counterfeit lubricant carrying the Tata brand. The vehicle used for transportation, along with the fake products, was seized from the spot.
During interrogation, the accused allegedly revealed that a manufacturing unit had been set up at Sadashivpur in Dhenkanal, where counterfeit lubricants were being manufactured and packed in containers bearing the names of reputed brands. Technical workers were reportedly brought in from Rajasthan specifically for the manufacturing and packaging process.
According to police, the counterfeit products were being supplied to various industrial areas in Odisha as well as neighbouring states.
Based on the information gathered during the investigation, a police team conducted a raid at the manufacturing unit in Sadashivpur and arrested another person allegedly involved in the racket. The cops also seized manufacturing machinery, fake holograms and vehicles suspected to have been used in the network.
Local police have been requested to initiate appropriate legal action against the manufacturing unit. Further investigation is underway to identify and apprehend other persons allegedly involved in the counterfeit lubricant supply chain.