Expired Food Racket Busted In Delhi, Products Worth Over Rs 20 Lakh Seized

An alleged racket that repackaged expired branded food products by changing their manufacturing and expiry dates has been busted in Delhi's Okhla Industrial Area, with seven people arrested and food products worth over Rs 20 lakh seized, police said on Friday.

The joint operation was carried out by Delhi Police, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Badarpur, and NGO Mission Mukti at the premises of M/s Westend Corporation Pvt. Ltd. in Okhla Phase-II.

"The raid was initially conducted on the basis of information about child labour at the factory. While no child labourers were found, officials allegedly uncovered a large-scale operation where expired and near-expiry food products were being relabelled and repackaged for sale," said the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP).

According to investigators, the accused bought near-expiry or expired products of popular brands at low prices and used chemical thinners to erase the original manufacturing and expiry dates. Specialised printing machines were allegedly used to print fresh dates, batch numbers, barcodes and Maximum Retail Prices (MRPs) before the products were repackaged to appear genuine.

The seized products included soft drinks, health drinks, instant noodles, ghee and packaged juices. Police said the tampered products were allegedly being supplied through wholesale markets and e-commerce platforms and were also meant for export, posing a serious threat to public health.

Officials also recovered printing machines, sealing equipment, stamps and chemical solvents allegedly used to alter product labels, indicating the existence of a full-fledged illegal repackaging unit.

An FIR has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including offences related to cheating and sale of unsafe products.

The seven arrested accused include the company's owner, Darshan Singh Sachdeva, 70, along with manager Nitesh Bhardwaj, accountant Narender Kumar, operator Kapil, warehouse keeper Lucky Ojha, and supervisors Prem Yadav and Pawan Kumar Yadav.

In a separate statement, FSSAI said its Northern Regional Office launched the enforcement action after receiving intelligence about fraudulent relabelling of food products. It said more than 50,000 food and non-food items were found at the premises with several allegedly carrying forged manufacturing dates, expiry dates, batch numbers and altered labels.

FSSAI said it will initiate strict legal action under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and appealed to consumers to report suspected cases of food adulteration and counterfeit products.

Police said further investigation is underway to identify the distribution network and ascertain the scale of the alleged operation.