Prune, India – March 8,2017
Two men were arrested for selling fake scotch to a select clientele of over 300 IT Professionals and College Students. According to the Excise Department Investigators the duo was running a fake scotch enterprise that was advertised through word of mouth which saw their clientele grow to over 300 persons. The duo used counterfeit liquor bottles and labels obtained from online sources in Mumbai and China. Imported name brand scotch was being imitated by the pair who even went as far as to obtain forged bags from the duty-free shop. Everything they needed for their enterprise except the liquid contents were obtained online.
“The fake scotch was bottled in one-liter ‘imported-look-alike’ bottles, authentic versions of which are sold only abroad. But the accused managed to get bogus bottles, fake seal caps and labels as well as fake carry bags of duty free shops from suppliers in Mumbai and China. These fake scotch bottles resembled the authentic bottles sold in duty free shops of the biggest brands in the world.” noted the superintendent of the Excise Department, Prune Division, Mohan Varde.
Through the investigation the officials learned that the customer base thought they were getting the real brand name scotch at a fair price because the arrested pair had a connection in the duty-free shop. During interrogation one of the suspects told police that it was a status symbol for the College Students and IT Professionals to buy imported Scotch for such celebrations as Birthday Parties and Promotions.
The Superintendent commented that what the young professionals and college students were being exposed to by the suspects was poisonous Methyl alcohol that was used in the production of the Fake Alcohol. Methanol is an industrial chemical that is most often used in cleaning supplies, it can lead to blindness, kidney failure and death.
Along with the two suspects the Excise Investigators seized 72 bottles of Fake Scotch ready for delivery, numerous counterfeit liquor bottles, caps, labels and duty-free bags. ´The investigation into the case assumes significance considering several people died recently in Ahmednagar consuming spurious liquor’ the Superintendent cautioned.
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