Hyderabad: Task force busts adulterated Ginger-Garlic paste unit in Lalapet, 4 arrested; 1.9 tonnes seized

Hyderabad: In a major food safety crackdown, the Commissioner’s Task Force (Secunderabad Zone) along with Lallaguda police raided a ginger-garlic paste godown at Lalapet.

The police arrested four persons for allegedly manufacturing and selling adulterated and unhygienic products.

Apart from that, the police also seized about 1,915 kg of ginger-garlic paste, chemicals and packing material from the premises.

A case has been registered at Lallaguda Police Station (Cr. No. 84/2026) under Sections 318(4), 275, 223 read with 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Raid at Lalapet godown

Acting on credible information, sleuths of the Task Force raided Jhansi Ginger and Garlic Paste godown located near Jana Priya Apartments, Lalapet.

During the inspection, officials found that ginger-garlic paste was being prepared in highly unhygienic conditions and allegedly adulterated with acetic acid and other substances.

The accused were reportedly storing the paste in plastic tubs for several days before repackaging it into smaller containers for retail sale.

Four arrested

The arrested persons have been identified as:

Neela Venkateswaralu (56) – Owner of the godown, resident of Lalapet

K. Vinod (46) – Supervisor, resident of Shanti Nagar, Lallaguda

T. Sathish (23) – Worker, resident of North Lallaguda

M. Shivani (46) – Worker, resident of BJR Nagar, Malkajgiri

Police said the owner was running the unit with the help of the supervisor and workers, allegedly producing adulterated paste and supplying it to general kirana stores to make illegal profits.

Huge quantity of stock seized

During the raid, police seized:

18 plastic tubs (45 kg each) of loose ginger-garlic paste

80 boxes (5 kg each)

300 boxes (1 kg each)

370 boxes (500 g each)

1,320 boxes (175 g each)

30 kg of acetic acid

Around 10 kg of xanthan gum (half-used bag)

80 kg of raw ginger and garlic

Two packing machines, one grinder/mixing machine and a weighing machine

Four date stamps and 86 labels bearing “Jansi-M” name

The total quantity of paste seized was approximately 1,915 kg, officials said.

Fake labelling alleged

According to police, the accused were allegedly using fake brand labels and date stamps to market the products. The paste was packed and distributed to various kirana stores and sold to unsuspecting customers.

Officials involved in operation

The raid was conducted under the supervision of Inspector J. Raj Shekar (Task Force, Secunderabad Zone), Inspector T. Ashok Kumar (Lallaguda PS), SI S. Raju (Task Force) and SI M. Rajeshwar Reddy (Lallaguda PS) along with their teams.

Further investigation is underway.