The Commissioner’s Task Force, West Zone Team, in collaboration with Sanath Nagar Police, has successfully busted a major tea powder adulteration racket operating within the city limits. Acting on credible intelligence, the joint team conducted a raid at premises in Sanath Nagar and apprehended one individual involved in the illegal operation of adulterating tea powder using synthetic chemicals and cocopeat.
The accused has been identified as Jagannath Bishnoi, son of Gandhi Bishnoi, aged 33 years, who was running a tea business. During interrogation, Bishnoi revealed the complete process of his adulteration operation, which he carried out with the sole motive of earning illegal profits by deceiving consumers and local tea vendors.
According to the investigation, the accused disclosed a detailed method of preparing adulterated tea powder. He would purchase cocopeat, filter out excess coconut husk, and mix it with hot jaggery water. This mixture was then dried for two to three days. After the drying process, synthetic food colours including Sunset Yellow and Tartrazine Orange were added, which were absorbed by the jaggery-mixed cocopeat. The coloured mixture was dried again before being used in the final adulteration process.
The accused revealed that for preparing one kilogram of adulterated tea powder, he mixed 450 grams of low-quality tea dust, 500 grams of low-quality tea granules, and 50 grams of colour-mixed cocopeat. This adulterated product was then supplied and sold to local tea stalls and other dealers at higher prices, with the accused misrepresenting it as genuine tea powder to unsuspecting buyers.
The raiding team seized substantial quantities of materials and equipment from the premises. The seized items include 120 kilograms of colour-mixed tea powder, 30 kilograms of natural tea powder, 138 kilograms of cocopeat mix, one weighing machine, 800 grams of Sunset colour, 700 grams of Tartrazine colour, one domestic cylinder, three handles, one beaker, 12 boxes of jaggery each weighing 500 grams, and 10 kilograms of carry bag bundles.
The raid was conducted by West Zone Task Force Inspector CH. Yadendar, along with Sub-Inspector D. Ravi Raj and staff members of the Commissioner’s Task Force West Team Hyderabad, in coordination with Banjara Hills Police. The operation was carried out under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police Sri Gaikwad Vaibhav Raghunath, IPS, Commissioner’s Task Force, Hyderabad.
Authorities have issued a public advisory urging citizens to purchase tea powder only from authorized and reputed sellers. The public has been requested to report any suspected cases of food adulteration to the concerned authorities immediately. Food business operators have been warned that involvement in food adulteration, which poses serious risks to human life, will attract criminal cases and strict legal action.
The general public is advised to remain vigilant while purchasing food products and verify the quality and authenticity of tea powder before consumption. The authorities have emphasized that such adulteration practices not only cheat consumers financially but also pose significant health hazards due to the use of synthetic chemicals and substandard materials in food products meant for daily consumption.
