Authorities uncover oil production from animal carcasses

KARACHI: Sukhan police said they raided a warehouse and arrested a man accused of producing hazardous oil by melting the fat and bones of dead animals, after a video of the compound drew public attention on social media.

Police registered a case on behalf of the state at Sukhan police station under Sections 269, 270 and 337-J of the Pakistan Penal Code. According to officials, the matter came into focus after footage circulating online showed carcasses of dead animals and large quantities of bones inside the walled premises. The video also appeared to show a large cauldron allegedly used to process animal fat and bones into oil, along with piles of leftover bones.

In the first information report, complainant ASI Ghulam Qadir said he was on routine anti-crime patrol with other police personnel when an informant told him that a man was making oil from melted animal fat at a vacant plot near a coal warehouse. Acting on that information, police carried out a raid at about 1:30am on June 12.

Police said they found a man allegedly engaged in melting animal fat to produce oil at the site and arrested him there. The suspect was identified as Waqar. During a search of the warehouse, officers recovered a plastic container filled with oil that, according to the FIR, had been produced from the fat of dead animals.

The FIR stated that the recovered oil was considered hazardous and potentially harmful to human health. Police said the material was taken into custody as evidence, while the suspect was detained. The plot was also sealed after the raid.

Authorities later transferred the case to the investigation unit for further inquiry. Officials of the Sindh Food Authority subsequently visited and inspected the site.