Meerut/Lucknow, Oct. 14 -- In a large-scale joint operation, teams from the income-tax and GST departments conducted surprise raids on Monday morning at the establishments of several major meat traders across Western Uttar Pradesh, including Bareilly, Sambhal, Hapur and Ghaziabad. The coordinated crackdown began before dawn and involved over 70 vehicles and nearly 200 officers. The companies are facing allegations of tax evasion, foreign exchange violations, and irregularities in export and packaging, the officials added. The most high-profile action took place in Bareilly, where the joint team raided Marya Frozen Foods Pvt Ltd, a slaughterhouse owned by prominent meat exporter Shakeel Qureshi. The team arrived at around 7 am and immediately sealed the premises, preventing anyone from entering or leaving. According to officials, teams from Delhi, Lucknow and Moradabad were also part of the operation. Meanwhile, in Sambhal, income tax officers reached India Frozen Foods Private Limited, another major meat export firm, around 4 am. The facility is owned by Haji Imran and Haji Irfan. Both brothers are believed to have a combined business turnover of nearly Rs.1,000 crore. Their homes, factories, and offices, as well as the residences of four senior company officials, were searched. In Bareilly, the local police were not informed in advance. The central teams arrived with their own police force and Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) personnel, conducting the operation in complete secrecy. During the raid, officials confiscated mobile phones, computers, registers, and key business documents. Employees inside were not permitted to leave, and those outside were denied entry. The searches continued through the day and were expected to extend into the night. Marya Frozen Agro Foods Pvt Limited is one of the largest meat exporters in the region, with trading links extending across West Asia, Asia-Pacific, and African nations. Mohd Eshan, the public relations officer of Marya Frozen, Agra, confirmed the presence of the tax teams since morning but claimed ignorance about the details. "We don't have much information. Shakeel Qureshi is at home, and I haven't been allowed inside," he said. In Hapur, the tax department raided the residence of Haji Yaseen, another prominent meat trader whose factory is located in Ghaziabad. Searches were also carried out at the homes of Aslam Qureshi and advocate Nitin Garg, both reportedly associated with Yaseen's business. According to income-tax officials aware of the matter, multiple teams carried out simultaneous searches across several locations in Bareilly, Sambhal, and Hapur. PAC units were deployed at each site to ensure security and prevent information leaks. Though officials have not disclosed the total number of premises covered, a senior official indicated that the operation was based on intelligence inputs suggesting large-scale financial irregularities and possible tax evasion by several firms involved in the meat export business. The raids are expected to continue for the next several hours as officials sift through seized records and electronic data....