Spoiled dry fruits sold near Charminar, godown owner arrested

Hyderabad: A businessman from the Charminar area was arrested for allegedly selling spoiled and unhygienic dry fruits by falsely marketing them as quality products fit for consumption.

The Special Crime Team of the Central Crime Station (CCS), Hyderabad, along with the food adulteration team and Bahadurpura police, apprehended the accused, identified as Asawa Manish (42), a resident of Chelapura.

He was running a godown under the name GEM Foods (Imports and Exports).

Raid based on credible information

Acting on credible information on Friday, officials of the CCS Special Crime Team, food adulteration team and Bahadurpura police conducted a joint raid at the godown in Chelapura. During the operation, the team apprehended the accused and seized a large quantity of spoiled dry fruits.

Large quantity of spoiled stock seized

Police recovered 30 cartons of dry fruits that were found to be spoiled and stored in unhygienic conditions. Officials said the products showed fungal growth and emitted a foul smell, indicating that they were unfit for human consumption.

Despite their poor quality, the accused allegedly sold the dry fruits to customers by falsely claiming they were of good quality.

The raid was carried out by Inspector D Bikshapathi of the Special Crime Team, along with his staff, the Food Adulteration team and the Bahadurpura police, under the supervision of ACP G Venkateswar Reddy, CCS, Hyderabad.

Public advisory

Police advised citizens to remain cautious while purchasing food items, especially packaged or bulk products such as dry fruits. Consumers were urged to check the quality, smell and appearance of products before buying or consuming them.

Authorities also appealed to the public to immediately report the sale of spoiled, adulterated or unhygienic food products to the nearest police station or food safety officials.