Thane police on Tuesday claimed to closed down an illegal trade in cement, wherein waste cement from railway yard warehsoue is collected and sold under the name of renowned brands.

A raid was conducted at Balkum, Sr Police Inspector, Niteen Thackeray, said. Five people were accused were found collecting waste cement unloaded at the railway yards at Kalwa, Thane, Kalyan and Mulund railway stations. They used to package the collected cement in gunny bags with brand names and sell them at regular prices, police said.

The activity of filling the bags was then carried out in warehouses (godowns). Following the raid, police seized many cement and empty bags valued at INR76,450 (US$1122.40). It is not known how long the illegal operations had been going on for or how much waste cement had now entered the market.