Hyderabad: In a major crackdown on food safety, nearly two weeks after its formation, the Commissioner’s Task Force, in collaboration with Hyderabad Food Adulteration Surveillance Team (H-FAST) and Mangalhat police, busted an illegal meat business on Wednesday, April 1, and seized 12 tonnes of stale and spoiled sheep and goat offal worth Rs 10 lakh.
The police arrested one person, identified as Rafi Ahmed, 52, manager of the store, while the owner, Mohd Afroz, is still absconding. The police conducted the raid at a shop named ‘A to Z Sheep & Goat Offal’ located near Akbari Masjid in Aman Nagar Colony based on a tip-off.
The police said the accused were purchasing spoiled offal like paya, head, brain, kidney, and liver at cheaper rates and keeping it for sale for a longer period in deep freezers and plastic tubs filled with stagnant water.
According to the police, Afroz sourced the meat from Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, and Maharashtra, which was then sold in hotels, marriage functions, and other events.
The police officials said the absconding owner of the shop had earlier been fined by GHMC and was also booked in a previous case. The police have registered a case against the accused under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Mangalhat police station.
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