Ghaziabad: Fake supplement racket busted, 5 held

Ghaziabad: Five people were arrested after a racket linked to counterfeit gym supplements’ packaging and supply was busted on Wednesday in Ghaziabad, police said, adding that items worth an estimated market value of ₹50 lakh were also seized

Ghaziabad: Five people were arrested after a racket linked to counterfeit gym supplements’ packaging and supply was busted on Wednesday in Ghaziabad, police said, adding that items worth an estimated market value of ₹50 lakh were also seized.

Two suspects, both residents of Delhi’s Seemapuri, were apprehended from a godown following a raid in Ghaziabad’s Shalimar Garden, and three others, residents of Vijay Nagar, were nabbed from two shops in Vijay Nagar area. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

“A gang that prepared and sold fake supplements and related medicines was unearthed… The seized items, having an estimated value of ₹50 lakh, included fake medicines, food supplements, steroid injections, etc., which they sold locally as gym supplements. They had come up with a storage godown in Shalimar Garden, and the facility was used to store and package items for further supply,” deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Dhawal Jaiswal said during a press conference held at the Ghaziabad police line.

Police said two suspects, both residents of Delhi’s Seemapuri, were apprehended from a godown following a raid in Ghaziabad’s Shalimar Garden, and three others, residents of Vijay Nagar, were nabbed from two shops in Vijay Nagar area.

Officials said that the two suspects nabbed during a raid, revealed the location of two stores in Vijay Nagar from where the packaged items were sold in retail.

Officials said that fake supplements were prepared using spurious and prohibited drugs.

These items were used for health improvement, muscle building, hormonal balancing, improvement of testosterone levels, and also to improve vitamin deficiency, said DCP Jaiwal.

Raids were conducted following a tip-off about the gang’s operations and samples of the seized items were sent for laboratory analysis, the officer said.

“We recovered about 20 different packaged items during the raids. The items do not adhere to the prescribed formula, and these are harmful for health. Further investigation is underway,” the DCP added.

Officials said the arrested suspects were in the business for about six months, and the police suspect three to four more people could be involved in the case.