THE Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), together with the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA), announced the results of an operation to take down a major counterfeit monosodium glutamate (MSG) and seasoning powder network.
This follows an expanded investigation into an interprovincial distribution ring that led to the seizure of goods worth nearly two million baht (RM246,108).
Police Lt-Col Wiwattanachai Kluenkaew, deputy superintendent of Economic Crime Suppression Division 1, said the operation stemmed from the earlier arrest of small-scale traders in Chaiyaphum province.
Officers then spent more than three months tracing the distribution route until they discovered a large production site hidden in Soi Sakae Ngam 50 in Samae Dam subdistrict, Bang Khun Thian district, Bangkok.
Investigators later gathered evidence and obtained search warrants for three locations.
On March 25, officers conducting surveillance spotted a suspicious box truck leaving the soi, or side street.
They followed the vehicle to a petrol station in Sam Khok district, Pathum Thani province, where they found Uthit (surname withheld) behind the wheel.
A search of the vehicle uncovered a large quantity of fake MSG and counterfeit seasoning powder, leading to his immediate arrest.
Following that arrest, officers from Economic Crime Suppression Division 1, working jointly with the FDA, searched a house in Soi Sakae Ngam 50 and found Kriangkrai (surname withheld), along with three workers, allegedly producing counterfeit MSG and seasoning powder imitating well-known brands.
The products were reportedly being made using substandard raw materials in unhygienic conditions.
During questioning, Kriangkrai allegedly confessed that he had been producing counterfeit goods for more than two years.
In total, officers arrested seven suspects and seized 4,804 packets of fake MSG and 1,532 packets of counterfeit seasoning powder. — The Nation/ANN
