Bengaluru: Illegally Imported Skin Whitening Cream For Use In Beauty Parlours Seized

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has seized Rs 13.5 lakh worth of illegally imported skin whitening powder. This seizure helped in the unearthing of a racket that was involved in bringing the illegal shipments in Bengaluru and eventually selling them in the different south Indian states.

The Times of India reports that the police suspect that the illegal whitening cream was used by different salons in Bengaluru to perform unethical medical procedures due to the huge demand of fair skin in South Indian states.

Sources with DRI’s Bengaluru zonal unit says that these products have been imported from Thailand and Malaysia. “In the second week of May, we received a tip-off that a large consignment of skin-whitening medicines was being dropped off at a house in Jayanagar,” said an investigating officer.

How was the consignment caught?

On May 8, DRI officials reached the place where a man smuggled in the product claiming it to be food supplements. “We caught the man and an inspection of the cartons revealed numerous bottles of Japan-made Tatio Active DX Powder. It was known that the powder was meant to be administered into the body through intravenous injections, popularly known as drip,” the officer added. Another man was also detained in connection with the incident.

We suspect more gangs could be involved in this illegal drug trade. They use Bengaluru as a receiving point and send the drugs to Chennai, Kochi and Hyderabad. We suspect the drug is illegally given to clients through some clinics and beauty parlours,” another DRI official added.

Food supplements are often not opened in India because of expiry deadlines. To import skin whitening creams special license from the drug control department is required.

A city-based dermatologist said “Doctors don’t encourage such treatments as they involve toning down the melanin pigment in the skin through medicines to give it a glow. It is extremely risky for unqualified people to perform the procedure as it could lead to the patient’s death.”