Mumbai, July 19: An inter-state spurious oil racket has been busted with the arrest of nine persons at Sewri in central Mumbai, the port zone police said. Acting on information that spurious oil was being sold at Sewri, police yesterday laid a trap and nabbed nine persons involved in the racket. “The accused used to paint drums with brand names and fill them with spurious oil which was mixed with red dye to make it appear as some lubricant oil. The drums were sealed using counterfeit company seals” Pradnya Sarvade, DCP, port zone police, told a news agency. Nearly 100 drums, each containing 200 litres oil worth Rs 10 lakh was seized from the accused, she said.
“We are continuing raids in various places. The oil was sold in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh,” she added.
The clandestine adulteration had been going on for the past 20 years, the accused revealed during interrogation.
“The spurious oil also causes environmental hazards as it pollutes the atmosphere. We are also examining the environmental laws that can be slapped against the accused,” she added.

Bureau Report