Raid exposes decade-long fake Mysore sandal soap operation in Telangana
The Hindu
Officials from KSDL, along with the Telangana police, recently raided a unit manufacturing fake Mysore Sandal Soap. During the operation, Hyderabad residents Rakesh Jain and Mahaveer Jain were arrested.
A counterfeit Mysore Sandal Soap production facility in Hyderabad, raided recently, had been in operation for a decade without coming to the notice of the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL). This facility is estimated to have had a turnover in the range of ₹500 to ₹600 crore in these 10 years. This is essentially a loss to KSDL.
Officials from KSDL, along with the Telangana police, recently raided the unit manufacturing fake Mysore Sandal Soap. During the operation, Hyderabad residents Rakesh Jain and Mahaveer Jain were arrested.
On January 12, following a direction from Minister for Large and Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development M.B. Patil and KSDL Chairman B. Prem Kumar, the manager of the Hyderabad branch of KSDL informed the Telangana police about the Minister being alerted about a counterfeiting operation.
According to officials, prior to contacting the police, the KSDL conducted an investigation into duplicate products and the manufacturing unit. They purchased counterfeit products amounting to ₹5 lakh and tested them. Despite being unable to determine the location of the fake product manufacturing unit, KSDL staff strategically placed an order for soaps valued at ₹25 lakh. Under the guise of picking up the consignment, they went to the factory where the counterfeit soaps were being produced.
During the operation, police seized 20 cartons containing three-soap packs, totaling 1,800 pieces, each weighing 150 grams, as well as 47 cartons totally having 9,400 pieces of soap, each piece weighing 75 grams. Additionally, empty packing boxes for 150-gram Mysore Sandal Soap (400 pieces), and empty packing boxes for 75-gram Mysore Sandal Soap (400 pieces) were seized.
Upon examination in the KSDL laboratory, officials determined that the counterfeit soaps lack high-quality sandal oil and contain heavy metals that potentially are carcinogenic.
The individuals operating the counterfeit Mysore Sandal Soap manufacturing unit were also involved in the counterfeiting of other well-known branded products, including ghee and coconut oil, according to officials.
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