A couple identified as the main culprits have been arrested for manufacture and sale of ghee by illegally using the prominent brand name ‘Nandini’ of Karnataka, reports said on Wednesday, November 26, in Bengaluru.
The arrests of Ramya and her husband Shivakumar came after their manufacturing unit was raided by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) police, during which officials found large, high-tech machinery used to produce counterfeit ghee in Tamil Nadu.
The brand Nandini is owned by the Karnataka Co-operative Milk Producers' Federation (KMF), and is trusted across southern India.
The couple had allegedly been using advanced industrial equipment to manufacture fake 'Nandini' products on a large scale, officials said, as per a report in NDTV.
This comes around a week after four other people were arrested and a large network involved in producing adulterated ghee and selling them in fake 'Nandhini' packs was busted. The group produced adulterated ghee in Tamil Nadu and filled it into fake Nandini brand sachets and plastic bottles, and sold them across Bengaluru, , PTI had reported.
"Authorities have seized 8,136 litres of adulterated ghee, coconut and palm oil, ₹1.19 lakh in cash, four goods vehicles used for transportation, machinery used for manufacturing the adulterated ghee, and other related items. The total value of the seized property is approximately ₹1.27 crore," a statement issued by the office of Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh said.
{{/usCountry}}"Authorities have seized 8,136 litres of adulterated ghee, coconut and palm oil, ₹1.19 lakh in cash, four goods vehicles used for transportation, machinery used for manufacturing the adulterated ghee, and other related items. The total value of the seized property is approximately ₹1.27 crore," a statement issued by the office of Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh said.
{{/usCountry}}"Understanding the high demand for Nandini ghee in Karnataka, the accused had been preparing adulterated ghee in Tamil Nadu, filling it into counterfeit Nandini sachets and plastic bottles, and supplying it to Bengaluru-based accused who held official KMF licenses," it added.
"Based on intelligence gathered secretly by the CCB (Central Crime Branch) Special Investigation Squad and KMF (Karnataka Milk Federation) Vigilance Wing officers, the operation was tracked," it said.
Team of the CCB and the KMF Vigilance Wing had conducted raids on godowns, shops, and vehicles belonging to Krishna Enterprises in Nanjamba Agrahara, Chamarajpet, owned by the main accused and their family members. During the raids, a vehicle transporting adulterated ghee was seized and the driver arrested, they said. A case was been registered at the CCB Special Investigation Division, police said.