Delhi Police cyber cell busts fake cosmetic unit

The Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police Crime Branch has busted another illegal manufacturing unit producing spurious cosmetic and pharmaceutical packaging under its ongoing ‘Operation Kavach’. The raid at an industrial unit in Bawana led to the recovery of high-end machinery and thousands of fake empty tubes used for well-known cosmetic and medicinal brands.

According to the Crime Branch, the illegal unit was engaged in manufacturing counterfeit empty tubes of popular products such as Betnovate-C, Fair & Lovely, Veet Hair Removal Cream and other cosmetic and pharmaceutical brands.

The action follows the registration of FIR under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act at the Crime Branch police station.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Aditya Gautam said the operation was part of a sustained crackdown on spurious medicines and fake cosmetics. Under Operation Kavach, our focus is to dismantle the entire supply chain involved in the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit cosmetic and pharmaceutical products. Such activities pose a serious risk to public health and safety,” he said.

Police said the raid was conducted at an industrial unit located in Sector-3 of the Bawana Industrial Area after technical surveillance and analysis of leads obtained during earlier arrests in the case.  During the inspection, the team found a fully functional manufacturing setup producing empty tubes meant to be filled later with fake cosmetic and medicinal products. The investigation revealed that the Bawana unit was being operated by accused Pramod Kumar Gupta, while the owner of the unit is currently reported to be based in Vietnam.

 Gupta allegedly supplied the counterfeit empty tubes to a separate filling and manufacturing facility located in Bijwasan, Delhi. Police said several accused, including Shree Ram, Gaurav Bhagat, Pramod Kumar Gupta, Rahul Aggarwal, and Anil Rawat, had already been arrested earlier in the same case.

During the raid, police recovered two body maker machines used for fabricating tubes, along with a large quantity of raw material and finished counterfeit packaging. 

The seized items included 150 empty tubes and one plastic paper roll of HUDA BEAUTY, 350 empty tubes of Fair Angel USA hair removal cream, 550 empty tubes of Botox Bee Venom Wrinkle Cream, 500 empty tubes of London Pride hair removal cream, 350 empty tubes of Wart Removal Cream and 750 empty tubes of Mosseal Mosquito Repellent.

Officials said authorised representatives of the concerned companies were present during the inspection, and samples were drawn from the seized material for further examination.

The recovered machinery and packaging material have been taken into police custody as part of the evidence. In a follow-up action, the Crime Branch also neutralised a key link in the distribution chain. Police intercepted Syed Feroz Hasan, a 34-year-old resident of Lucknow who runs a cosmetic shop in Sadar Bazar, Delhi. During interrogation, Hasan allegedly confessed to purchasing spurious Clobetamil-G cream from co-accused Shree Ram and distributing it in the Sadar Bazar market. He has been bound down under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.

Police said further investigation is underway to trace both backward and forward linkages, including the sources of raw materials and the wider distribution network. The aim, officers said, is to completely dismantle the network involved in the manufacture and sale of fake cosmetics and spurious pharmaceutical products across Delhi and beyond.