More fake cosmetics seized in India

The seized products included shampoos, body lotions, face packs, creams, cohol and mascara, hand wash, make-up kits, hair colour, shaving kits, dental and hair products.

SSP, Patna, Manu Maharaj, said after the raids, "Police will take stringent action against persons involved in the business of fake cosmetics. Such cosmetics are dangerous for health, so we will ensure that a chargesheet is filed at the earliest. The police will also ensure that this business is stopped permanently."​

Most of the seized products are said to have been made in Delhi or Ludhiana but carry the labels of a number of foreign brands. According to State drug controller Hemant Kumar Sinha, the falsely branded cosmetics have found their way not only to small outlets but also the supermarkets and malls, with some even being made locally.

"We sent the samples of various products to laboratories to check their genuineness. Only after getting reports from the laboratories that the products were fake, we helped the police seal the godowns and stores dealing in them​," says Murtaja Hussain, an official of the HUL's legal department.

Not again..​

The news comes just after Authorities raided and seized fake products in three cosmetics outlets in Patna back in February.

According to a news publication on the region, The Times of India, the city of Patna is a hotbed for fake cosmetics, and large amounts of products are frequently seized there following raids.

Although the authorities were successful in uncovering these retail outlets, they have yet to determine where the products are coming from, if they are being made in domestic factories or are being smuggled in from elsewhere.

India is the latest country on the Asia Pacific region where illegal or fake cosmetics have been found to have been openly available to consumers. The Philippines and Israel have been in the press of late after cosmetics containing mercury and skin drugs passing themselves off as whitening products were found on their markets.