Berhampur: A 40-year-old trader was arrested on Monday for allegedly operating a spice processing unit and producing adulterated spices like turmeric, chilli powder and others at Laxmi Nursing Sahi under Bada Bazaar police station limits here. Huge quantities of the suspected adulterated spices and machinery were seized from the unit.The accused was identified as E.Koteswar Patra of Madan Mohan Nagar. The accused is a repeat offender with multiple cases registered against him at Bada Bazaar police station, relating to cheating, copyright violation, trademark breaches and food safety offences, police sources said. Police have also registered a case against three associates of Patra.A special police team led by IIC, Bada Bazaar police station, Ashish Kumar Swain, conducted a raid on the spice processing unit on Saturday evening. During the raid, they found huge quantities of loose turmeric powder dumped on the floor alongside finished and packed plastic bags.They seized around 1,500 kg of loose turmeric powder, more than 1,000 kg of packaged chilli and turmeric powder bags, 1,728 kg of ginger and garlic pastes, 20 packets of prohibited and adulterated chemical food colours, etc. They seized six handmade packing machines, eight milling machines and a weighing machine, etc., from the processing unit, police said. Swain said samples of the seized items will be sent to the food testing laboratory for detailed chemical examination.