Ahmedabad police have seized 1,221 cosmetic products valued at ₹6.90 lakh from two shops in the Gheekanta area, after a complaint about the alleged sale of counterfeit L’Oréal and Matrix products. The police have registered a case against both shop operators under the Copyright Act and sent product samples for laboratory examination.
The raids were conducted at My Beauty Centre near Panchbhai ni Pol on Gheekanta Road and Laxmi Beauty Shop near Panchu Miyan’s Dhabela. According to the report, the operation followed information received by an authorised representative of L’Oréal’s New Delhi-based company that products bearing the company’s name were being sold in Ahmedabad.
A team comprising the company’s local representative and officers from the city crime branch’s Special Operations Group carried out the searches. At My Beauty Centre, police reportedly seized 775 products, including shampoo, cream, developer and masks, valued at ₹4.44 lakh. The shop operator was identified as Yash Prabhulal Thakkar, 30, a resident of Bopal.
The second raid at Laxmi Beauty Shop resulted in the seizure of 446 products valued at ₹2.46 lakh. The operator was identified as Rishabh Rajendrabhai Agrawal, 29, a resident of Bapunagar. The combined value of the products seized from both shops was assessed at ₹6.90 lakh.
The police have not yet established through laboratory testing whether every seized item is counterfeit. Samples are being collected and sent for examination, while the investigation is continuing under the Copyright Act. The case therefore involves suspected counterfeit products pending scientific and investigative confirmation.
During preliminary questioning, Thakkar reportedly told investigators that he obtained products from Dineshbhai, the proprietor of Navya Enterprises in Mumbai’s Crawford Market, with the goods transported through Yash Transport. Agrawal reportedly said he purchased supplies directly from Vijaybhai, proprietor of R.K. Beauty in Crawford Market.
The report also names a salesperson, Laxmanbhai, associated with Krishna Enterprises in Ahmedabad’s Naranpura, as another alleged source from whom both retailers received deliveries. Police are examining the wider supply chain and the role of other people connected with the distribution of the products.
The seized items were reportedly being sold to local consumers through retail outlets. That makes the case larger than a dispute over brand imitation: it also raises questions about how product authenticity is checked across the city’s fragmented wholesale and retail markets. The immediate consumer impact, including whether any products reached buyers and whether they pose safety risks, will depend on the laboratory findings and the next stages of the investigation.
The police investigation will now focus on the alleged suppliers, transport links, additional distributors and the retail circulation of the products. Laboratory examination of the samples is the next official step in determining the nature of the seized cosmetics.
