The seized high-end colour label printer and other equipment.
Two men were arrested and a fake liquor label manufacturing unit worth nearly ₹50 lakh seized by the State Task Force (STF) of the Telangana Excise and Prohibition Department.
Following a tip-off, officials raided a premises in Kushaiguda in the early hours of Monday and uncovered a printing unit producing counterfeit government liquor labels. Officials seized a high-end colour label printer valued at ₹30 lakh along with additional equipment worth ₹20 lakh, which was being operated quietly from residential colonies in Kushaiguda, Shivsai Nagar and Nagarjuna Colony.
The arrested have been identified as Gaddameedi Prakash and Niwavat Rajesh of Kushaiguda, while another suspect, Gaddameedi Naveen Goud, was found to be running the unit from his residence.
Gaddameedi Prakash and Niwavat Rajesh, both residents of Kushaiguda, who were arrested by the Excise enforcement team.
The operation follows the seizure of a fake liquor unit at a rice mill in Suryapet two months ago, in which counterfeit liquor, bottles, spirit and labels of several companies were recovered. Investigations into that case revealed that Charanjit Singh had purchased spirit worth ₹4 crore, which was later traced to various States. Pursuing the trail through bank transactions led investigators to the current counterfeit label unit.
Police said the racket was supplying fake labels not only across Telangana but also to Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Gujarat. The spirit, identified as the key raw material, was being sourced through Krishna Industries in Hyderabad and distributed to many States for large-scale adulteration.
Published – August 26, 2025 07:14 pm IST
