HYDERABAD: A racket involving the illegal extraction and sale of sheep and goat blood was unearthed in the early hours of Sunday within the limits of the Keesara police station.
Police seized over 130 packets of animal blood and detained three persons in connection with the operation.
The blood was allegedly drawn from live sheep and goats at a mutton shop in Sathyanarayana Colony, Keesara. According to police, the extraction was carried out during late-night hours, with the blood transported from the premises without any authorisation or medical supervision.
Police said the racket had been operating for nearly a year and the accused extracting up to 1,000 ml per animal.
The blood was allegedly collected without official permission or veterinary supervision and sold at over Rs 2,000 per litre. Police said extraction was mainly carried out on weekends, particularly late Saturday nights and early Sunday mornings, when large numbers of animals are supplied to mutton shops in and around Keesara. Adding to the suspicion, the seized packets were reportedly labelled as “human blood,” raising concerns over possible misuse.
The accused claimed the blood was supplied to laboratories for preparing Sheep Blood Agar (SBA), a culture medium used in microbiology to grow and identify bacteria. However, police said SBA requires blood collected under strict sterilisation protocols were not followed.
The blood was stored in refrigerators using anticoagulants, with the accused claiming it could be preserved for up to 30 days. Police said such storage without regulatory compliance violates multiple laws.
Police are probing the supply chain, end users and possible involvement of laboratories, along with violations of health, animal welfare and food safety laws.
A detailed investigation is underway.