Delhi Police on Thursday raided a large-scale counterfeit engine oil manufacturing unit in Alipur, seizing a substantial quantity of fake Castrol-branded products ready for distribution. The operation, conducted by the District Investigation Unit (DIU), involved officials from Castrol Limited to verify the authenticity of the recovered materials and confirm the infringement of intellectual property rights.
During the raid, authorities recovered 239 litres of adulterated Castrol oil, 304 empty bottles with the company label, 3,000 barcode stickers, over 700 branded bottle caps, and 11,200 MRP stickers for various Castrol products. Additional equipment, including a sealing machine, oil pump, measurement tools, a plastic funnel, an iron, and a litre of orange dye reportedly used in the production process, were also seized.
Investigators revealed that the illegal unit had been operational for the past six months, supplying counterfeit engine oil across parts of Delhi. The identified operators, Ajay Bhardwaj, 27, and Sachin Sharma, 22, both from Sonepat, are currently under investigation. Police suspect the duo had established a complex distribution network to circulate the counterfeit products in urban markets.
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The seized items included 10,060 MRP stickers for Castrol Activ 20W-40, 1,160 for Castrol GTX 20W-50, 100 bottles of Castrol Activ 20W-40 (1 litre), 99 bottles of Castrol RX Super 15W-40 (1 litre), and four buckets of Castrol CRB Plus 20W-40 (10 litre), alongside thousands of packaging materials. The scale of the operation highlighted the potential risk to consumers who may have purchased the counterfeit lubricant unknowingly.
Police have confirmed that the investigation is ongoing to identify additional members of the network and trace the distribution channels. Authorities emphasised the seriousness of the offence, noting that the circulation of fake engine oil poses both economic and safety risks, and vowed to take strict action against all individuals involved in the racket.
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