Latest news with #RedBullSortexClean
Hindustan Times
01-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
1,400 kg fake paneer seized in Noida, big racket linked to Aligarh factory busted
A big racket of fake paneer (cottage cheese) being transported to Uttar Pradesh's Noida has been busted by the police, and around 1,400 kgs of the counterfeit product has been seized by the police. Around 1,400 kgs of fake paneer was seized by the Noida Police. (Shutterstock) According to a Lallantop report, the racket is linked to a factory in Aligarh, and was behind the supply of fake paneer in parts of Delhi-NCR over the last six months. It had reportedly been ongoing for about six months, and fake paneer was sold at ₹ 180-220 per kg, significantly cheaper than real paneer, and supplied to vendors, roadside stalls, and eateries across Delhi‑NCR. Big bust in Noida, a raid in Aligarh The Noida Police received a tip-off about fake paneer being brought to the city in a pick-up truck. Acting on the input, the Noida Sector-63 Police stopped a vehicle for a check, and found 1,400 kgs of fake paneer inside it, the news report further said. The driver, 32-year-old Gulfam, was taken into custody and revealed during questioning that the paneer was being transported from a factory in Aligarh. Following the factory link revealed by the pick-up truck's driver, police visited a plant located in Sahajpura village of Aligarh. A variety of raw material and other items needed for making fake paneer was found: 25 kg of fresh skimmed milk powder Artificial white colour Sacks with starchy material, labelled 'Red Bull Sortex Clean' Two tins of 15 kg refined palm oil Blue box weighing 4 kgs, containing chemicals 11 blue drums Fake paneer making machine. After a raid at the factory, police arrested three more people -- 36-year-old Guddu, who operated the the plant, a 30-year-old helper named Ikhlaq, and one Naveed. Process behind making fake paneer During a police questioning, those arrested at the Aligarh factory detailed the process that goes into manufacturing fake paneer, the Lallantop report said. The starchy powder or 'Red Bull Sortex Clean' was mixed with water and chemicals, and boiled. An artificial white colour was then added to this mixture to give it an appearance of a dairy product. It was then curdled to look like paneer, tied inside a cloth to remove excess water and later mixed with some palm oil for a more "creamy look". Apart from the 1,400 kg paneer, the raw material and equipment used for making the fake product has also been seized by the police. Police are now on the lookout for the buyers and sellers of the fake product.
Indian Express
30-06-2025
- Indian Express
Adulterated paneer sold to Delhi-NCR eateries & vendors over six months; racket busted in Noida
Late on Friday night, a Mahindra pickup truck driving through Noida's Sector 63 caught the attention of local police. Acting on a tip-off that the truck was carrying 14 quintals of adulterated paneer, a police team intercepted the vehicle. What they found inside unraveled an alleged interstate racket that had, for at least six months, been quietly pumping adulterated paneer into Delhi-NCR's food markets. The truck driver, Gulfam — a 32-year-old from Aligarh's Shajapur village — was taken in for questioning. By morning, he led the police to a plant in Sahajpura village in the district, where the adulterated paneer was being produced. Here, the police arrested three more men: 36-year-old Guddu alias Rish, who was running the plant, and Ikhlaq (30) and Naved (20), who were the distributors. All four arrested men belong to the same region in Aligarh, said officers. According to police, the racket has been operating for the last six months. The adulterated paneer was sold to street vendors and small eateries in Delhi and Noida, priced between Rs 180 and Rs 220 per kilogram, while the actual price is nearly double. Police said that the process of making the adulterated cottage cheese is extremely methodical. At the plant, large sacks of starch-heavy agricultural beans — labelled as 'Red Bull Sortex Clean' — were soaked in water and boiled. Chemical whiteners and poster colours were added to mimic the characteristic milk-like colour and texture. A blue chemical compound — still unidentified — was then added to curdle the mixture, giving it a paneer-like consistency. Once cooled and strained through a cloth, it resembled blocks of real paneer. Another batch was found, which was made using milk powder instead of beans mixed with water or a liquid referred to as 'saprota.' Palmolin oil, commonly used in industrial food processing, was then stirred into the mix, giving it a creamy appearance. Again, chemicals were added to solidify it into blocks. A case has been registered at Sector 63 police station under sections 274, 275, and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. More arrests are likely, said police. Officers said that the process is ongoing to trace vendors and buyers linked to the operation. Food safety officers, who were brought in following the arrests, called the ingredients a serious health hazard. 'Palm oil and poster colour are not just adulterants — they are harmful to human health,' said one official, adding that samples of the seized paneer had been sent for lab analysis. Legal action under the Food Safety and Standards Act is expected once the lab reports are in. 'The accused prepared adulterated paneer from the recovered material and sold it as real paneer by deceiving shopkeepers in the NCR,' the police said in a statement. Adulterated paneer can sometimes be detected using iodine tincture. When dropped on real paneer, there's no change. But when dropped on adulterated paneer made with starch, the iodine turns black. Videos from the police operation show officers unwrapping the adulterated paneer from its cloth packaging. The plant — located inside a nondescript building in Sahajpur — was stocked with sacks of powder, drums of oil, and a machine that processed the mixture into cheese-like blocks.
