HYDERABAD: Buying a face cream? Well, better watch out! The Afzalgunj police have arrested three persons for selling fake Lakme cosmetic products of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and seized fake products worth of `18,000 from the arrested persons.
According to police, on a tip off, they conducted raids on several stores located in Begum Bazar locality and found that some local businessmen were preparing fake Lakme products and selling them in open market. It is almost impossible to identify the fake product from trhe genuine one.
The arrested persons have been identified as -- Naresh Kumar, Marketing executive, resident of Osman Sahi, Mahendra Kumar, owner of beauty parlour located at Abdullah locality and B Ram, businessman, resident of Pheelkhana.
Inspector C Anjaiah said that the three persons, including a marketing executive of a private firm, indulged in preparing fake Lakme cosmetic products illegally and sold them to customers.
“During the raids, we noticed that a number of fake products of HUL were put on sale. We seized some products from the accused and sent them for tests,’’ the Inspector said.
The reports revealed that the products were fake and manufactured locally. The experts said that if customers used the fake creams, they would get skin infections. Based on the reports, police registered criminal cases against the accused.
The Inspector said that the accused have confessed of indulging in preparing fake cosmetic products of various brands. As Lakme is one of the best brands in cosmetic products, they chose it over other brands.
The investigation also revealed that some dealers and businessmen ordered the fake products from the accused mistaking them for the original ones. The dealers used to purchase the fake products at low prices from the accused and used to sell them at higher rates to customers.