Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths raided a shop on Monday evening that allegedly sold substandard cosmetics, claiming them to have been made by Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL).
The police have seized the products, worth around Rs 6 lakh, and have filed a case against the shopkeepers under the Copyright Act.
Officials raided Sha Margaraj Deshmal & Co in Jaya Building in Mamulpet following a complaint from a representative of HUL.
As per the complaint lodged by Srinivasa T, Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police (ASI), attached to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the CCB, shopkeepers Mahaveer Jain, Chirag R, and others were found selling substandard products of various international brands.
The HUL representative alleged that the accused were selling these products using the name of well-known brands and falsely claiming them to be genuine. This caused significant financial loss to the company. "The products sold by the accused could potentially harm the skin and even lead to cancer."
Despite being aware that the products were not manufactured by HUL and were of poor quality, they were still sold as genuine at a lower price in order to make a quick profit, police said.
The investigation revealed that the accused bought substandard products, including different kinds of skin creams, lipsticks, eyeliners, powder and other cosmetics that did not go through quality checks by competent authorities.
Further investigations are on to determine the source of these products.