New Delhi, April 3 The Delhi Police has busted a counterfeit toothpaste manufacturing unit operating in the outer Delhi area of Khanjawala and arrested its owner, an official said on Friday.
Acting on a tip-off, a team raided a godown in Mahaveer Vihar on Thursday and seized a large quantity of fake toothpaste, empty tubes, packaging material, machines, adhesive tapes bearing the brand name, glue, heating guns, and raw materials, the official said.
"The seized goods were worth several lakhs and posed serious health risks due to unhygienic manufacturing conditions," a senior police officer said.
"During the operation, six labourers were seen filling locally prepared paste into tubes of a reputed toothpaste brand. The labourers told police that the unit was run by one Hari Om Mishra, a resident of Rohini," the officer said.
He said Mishra, 58, was arrested and operating from a rented premises without a license, invoices, or authorization documents.
Police said they recovered around 1,800 filled fake toothpaste tubes, along with over 10,000 empty tubes and more than 1,200 packed tubes. Around 130 kilograms of blue-colored paste stored in drums were also seized, police said.
A case has been registered, and an investigation is underway.