Hyderabad police arrested a 42 year old man, Asawa Manish, for allegedly selling spoiled and unhygienic dry fruits, officials said on Saturday. The action was carried out by the Special Crime Team of CCS along with the Food Adulteration Team and Bahadurpura Police. According to police, the accused was running a godown business named GEM Foods Imports and Exports in Chelapura near Charminar. He allegedly misrepresented the dry fruits as high quality and suitable for consumption. During a search, authorities discovered that the dry fruits were spoiled, showing fungal growth and giving off a foul smell. They were also stored in unsanitary conditions, making them unsafe for human consumption. The team seized 30 cartons of the contaminated dry fruits.

The arrest was made by Inspector D Bikshapathi of the Special Crime Team along with his staff, the Food Adulteration Team, and Bahadurpura Police under the supervision of ACP G Venkateswar Reddy. Police have urged the public to stay alert while buying food items, especially packaged or bulk products like dry fruits. Citizens are advised to immediately inform the nearest police station or food safety authorities if they come across spoiled, adulterated, or unhygienic food products being sold.

In a separate incident on March 12, police in the Mailardevpally area arrested two individuals, Mohammed Ziyauddin and Mohammed Mazhar Ali, for allegedly producing and selling adulterated ginger paste from houses in Subhan Colony in Alli Nagar. The arrests were made after a raid on March 11 based on credible information about the use of harmful ingredients in violation of food safety rules.

The suspects were operating under the names Seven Cooks and Arjun Enterprises. Police said they were preparing ginger paste in unhygienic conditions by mixing chemicals and selling it to local shops in Hyderabad. The operation was carried out without proper regulations or cleanliness standards, and spoiled ginger was allegedly used in the production process.