Law enforcement over the weekend seized drums of counterfeit Castrol engine oil and packaging during a raid in the city of Bhadohi, Uttar Predesh province, India.
Counterfeit lubricant is a worldwide problem, especially in the developing world where authentic products can be prohibitively expensive. The damage to equipment caused by fake oil can be catastrophic, as well as to the makers of authentic products.
Sunil Kumar of Castrol India Ltd filed a complaint with the authorities and took part in the raid, which netted 700 packed cans and 360 liters of oil labelled Castrol. Kumar said the counterfeit products were worth hundreds of thousands of rupees.
The police also found 25 employees and the owners of the factory, who were taken into custody.
The innocuously named Petrolube Private Ltd is one of many similar operations around the country. In July, police raided an outfit in Tirtol, Jagatsinghpur province, where cheap oil was being mixed with various chemicals and sold at inflated prices, Indian news reports said.
At the start of the year, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India joined police to crack down on a fake oil network in Kolkata that seized 8,000 fake products. In Delhi at the same time, police raided a fake oil factory after complaints from drivers of malfunctions and accidents caused by counterfeit products. Among the fake packaging were “unknown chemicals” as well as 50 kilogram of urea, typically used in fertilizer.
Castrol India wasn’t available to comment.