Patna, June 6: Four sport goods shops located at the Khazanchi Road area under Pirbhore police station were raided today and a large number of fake sports items were recovered.

The raid, which took place under Patna City superintendent of police Shivdeep Lande, was the result of a complaint by a Meerut-based company, Maruti, which manufactures tennis balls. The company had complained about fake tennis balls being sold under their brand name in these shops, the police said. The raids were conducted on Maruti Sports Shop, Shankar Sports, Global Traders and Durga Sports.

“The police had got a complaint about counterfeit sports products under famous brands being sold at these shops. A raid was conducted and two people — Pratap Narayan and Manoj Kumar — have been arrested. While Narayan is the owner of Maruti Sports, Manoj is the owner of Global Traders,” an officer at the Pirbhore police station said.

The police have also recovered fake cricket bats, balls and other sports items from the shop. “The police recovered bats with stickers and tags of big companies like SS, BDM, Reebok and others. Fake tennis balls were being sold using the name of Maruti,” the officer said.

The police added other people involved were being searched for. “There are many others who are involved in this. Presently, the two persons caught are being interrogated. The police will find out the source behind this. These items could have been manufactured locally or might have been bought from other places. The investigations are on,” the officer added.

Sources said Patna City area too had many shops, where fake products were manufactured and sold. “This is a big business in Patna City. A lot of fake products bearing names of big brands are manufactured and sold here. The products range from food items to cosmetics. This is dangerous for customers. The police are in the process of getting information of areas in Patna City where these products are made. Raids will be conducted,” an officer said.