Ahmedabad police have seized 1,221 allegedly counterfeit L’Oréal and Matrix cosmetic products valued at ₹6.90 lakh from two shops on Gheekanta Road, filing cases against the shop operators under the Copyright Act and beginning an investigation into the supply chain.
The raids were conducted at My Beauty Centre near Panchbhai’s Pol and Laxmi Beauty Shop near Panchu Miyan’s Dahela after an authorised representative of L’Oréal, based in New Delhi, informed the company that products bearing its name were allegedly being sold in Ahmedabad. A team from the city’s Special Operations Group Crime Branch carried out the searches, according to the report.
At My Beauty Centre, police allegedly recovered 775 products valued at ₹4.44 lakh from operator Yash Prabhulal Thakkar, 30, a resident of Bopal. The seized items included shampoo, cream, developer and masks. At Laxmi Beauty Shop, police allegedly recovered 446 products valued at ₹2.46 lakh from operator Rishabh Rajendrabhai Agrawal, 29, a resident of Bapunagar. The value of the seizure from the second shop was put at ₹2.46 lakh.
Police have taken product samples for laboratory testing. The testing is expected to help establish the nature and composition of the seized goods, while the cases will proceed on the basis of the allegations recorded during the operation. The two shop operators have been named in the cases, and the investigation is continuing.
During preliminary questioning, police were told that Thakkar sourced goods from a supplier identified as Dineshbhai, the owner of Navya Enterprises in Mumbai’s Crawford Market, with the consignments reportedly sent through Yash Transport. Agrawal allegedly told investigators that he travelled to Mumbai to purchase products from Vijaybhai, the owner of R.K. Beauty, also located in Crawford Market.
The police investigation has also identified a salesperson named Laxmanbhai, associated with Krishna Enterprises in Ahmedabad’s Naranpura, as another alleged source of deliveries. Authorities are examining the role of these suppliers and other people connected with the distribution network. The report said the products were being sold to local customers through retail outlets.
The operation highlights the enforcement challenge created by counterfeit goods moving through ordinary commercial areas and inter-city wholesale markets before reaching consumers. In this case, the investigation spans two retail shops in central Ahmedabad, suppliers reportedly based in Mumbai and a further alleged delivery link within the city. The police action therefore extends beyond the seizure itself to tracing how the products entered and moved through the market.
The report also said police, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and other agencies have been conducting investigations into counterfeit goods in the city. It stated that counterfeit products worth crores of rupees had been seized over the past year. The latest case will depend on laboratory examination, further investigation into the alleged supply chain and the legal proceedings arising from the FIRs.
