Bengaluru police bust fake hand sanitizer manufacturing racket, arrest two men

Coronavirus

The Central Crime Branch sleuths have seized 8,500 bottles of hand sanitisers that were being sold for exorbitant rates.

TNM Staff

The Bengaluru police on Friday raided godowns in the city and arrested two men for manufacturing fake hand sanitizers and hand rubs, which are currently in huge demand in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The Economic Offences Wing of the Central Crime Branch seized 8,500 bottles of hand sanitizers worth Rs 56 lakh.  According to the Karnataka Health Department, the 104 helpline had received several complaints of hand sanitizers running out of stock due to high demand and many had allegedly complained that the hand sanitizers were fake. Health Department officials say they notified the city police too. However, on Friday, the CCB sleuths received a tip off that fake sanitizers were being manufactured at godowns in the city.  A team of CCB police raided godowns of Jyoti Chemcials in New Taragupet and Swati and Company in Kasturbanagar. The two arrested accused include N Raju (43), a resident of Kasturbanagar and his partner Chandan (64), who lives in Chamarajpet. The accused have currently been remanded to judicial custody.  Joint  Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil told TNM that the accused mixed anywhere between 15ml to 20 ml of cheap perfume, 15 ml to 20 ml of blue colouring agent and 50 ml of isopropyl alcohol and filled them up in 100ml, 120ml, 200 ml and 500 ml bottles.  "We also recovered hand rubs that were fake, 280 litres of isopropyl alcohol and the brilliant blue colouring agent they used for the sanitizers. We also seized 4,500 stickers. There were other materials they used for making these fake sanitizers which we seized," Sandeep Patil said. The accused sold the 100 ml bottle for Rs 170, the 200ml bottle for 325 and the 500ml bottle for 620.  "These were profiteers. The market value of one litre of isopropyl alcohol is anywhere between rs 70 to Rs 100. They were making ten times more money than what they invested,"he added.  Sandeep Patil said that the police would seize the fake sanitizers that were sold at various medical stores based on information gathered during interrogation. "We are yet to seize more of these sanitizer bottles. We will have everything under evidence by the end of the week," he said. 

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