Surat: In another such case, the city police today busted a factory that was manufacturing fake products in the Sarthana area of the city. The factory was making bogus products such as Dettol handwash, Harpic, and Lizol cleaner and selling them in the market after pasting branded stickers.

Sarthana Police Station PI M.B. Zala said, “We had received a complaint that a factory was producing duplicate Dettol, Harpic, and Lizolproducts in the Sarthana Police Station area. Acting on that, we carried out a raid at the factory and have seized stickers, raw materials, and arrested one accused named Prakash. Further investigation is ongoing.”

As per the details, a week ago, consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser (India) received a tip-off that someone was duplicating their products and selling them in the market. After this, the company approached the Sarthana Police.

Today, a police team, along with three officials from Reckitt Benckiser, raided the godown of Mahadev Creation in Dome No. 15 of Matrushree Compound on Sarthana Canal Road. During the search at the premises, several cans of duplicate Harpic, Lizol, and Dettol liquid bearing the company logo, as well as empty cans, were found along with stickers featuring the company’s logo. The police also arrested a 34-year-old man, Prakashbhai Mohanbhai Molya, who was found at the factory.

A total of 165 cans of five liters of Harpic worth ₹1.65 lakh, 100 cans of five liters of Lizol worth ₹90,000, and 154 cans of five liters of Dettol liquid worth ₹84,800 have been recovered. Additionally, 250 empty cans of five liters of Harpic, empty one-liter cans of Harpic, 130 empty cans of five liters of Lizol, and 125 empty cans of five liters of Dettol, along with stickers, were confiscated, amounting to a total value of ₹4.39 lakh.

An official from the company has lodged a complaint against the owner of the fake factory, Prakashbhai Mohanbhai Molya, at the Sarthana police station based on various copyright clauses. Currently, the Sarthana police have arrested the accused and are conducting further interrogations.