There is no extant copy of the newspaper on Jan 24, 1945. The following excerpt is from the previous day’s edition.

LONDON: In an all-out drive against the black market in Britain, Scotland Yard is paying particular attention to the Indian trading community. This community has been specifically mentioned in numerous recent articles on the black market by the “Daily Mail” and “John Bull”.

It is alleged that in London the Indian black market activities are mainly connected with cosmetics of dubious manufacture masquerading under well-known trade names. In the provinces, according to the “Daily Mail” and “John Bull”, hordes of Indian peddlers are making immense sums of money selling a wide range of goods for which no coupons have been exchanged. Indian peddlers allegedly sell freely throughout Britain at their own prices, free of all coupon restrictions, or normal overhead trading costs, and free of income tax.

Scotland Yard’s task is tracking down those supplying these Indian peddlers, but the difficulties facing the investigators are immense. It is possible that some prosecutions in relation to cosmetics will follow, but even here it is likely to be found that the manufacturers and dealers are fully conversant with the intricacies of wartime regulations.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2020