The Thane Crime Branch Unit One has arrested two individuals for allegedly receiving expired products from online shopping platforms and selling them in the open market instead of disposing of them as mandated.
The accused have been identified as Mohammad Irfan Mohammad Munir Chaudhary (41), a resident of Sakinaka in Mumbai, and Mohammad Akram Mohammad Ismail Sheikh (58), a resident of Gauripada in Bhiwandi.
According to the police, a tip-off was received on July 9 regarding Eco Star Recycling Company, which had been entrusted with the destruction of various expired items such as pulses, flour, dry fruits, sugar, chocolates, cosmetics, and sanitary products received from online platforms. However, instead of destroying them, the company allegedly repackaged and sold the items in slum areas at discounted rates.
Acting on the information, a joint team of the Crime Branch and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials raided the company’s godown at Dahisar Naka in Shil-Daighar, Thane. The warehouse, spread across 53,000 sq. ft., was found to contain nearly 200 tons of expired food grains, cereals, flour, sugar, rice, dry fruits, toilet cleaners, sanitary pads, washing powder, soaps, and other items.
Officials discovered that the original branded packaging had been torn off, and approximately 12,000 kg (12 tons) of the expired goods had been repacked into plain plastic bags and sacks for resale. Fake delivery invoices were also being generated, and the goods were being distributed in Karvi, Bhiwandi, and other areas at extremely low prices.
An FIR was registered on July 10 at Shil-Daighar Police Station under Sections 318(4), 336(2), 336(3), 340(2), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The accused were produced before the court and have been remanded to police custody until July 14.
Sachin Gaikwad, Senior Police Inspector of the Thane Crime Branch Unit, stated that the recycling company had been paid to destroy the expired products, but instead chose to profit by selling them in Bhiwandi and Kalyan.
