Lucknow, Aug 26 - Police and health officials Wednesday continued raiding hospitals and pathology labs across Uttar Pradesh, four days after the arrest of six men here in connection with a racket in adulterated blood.

Police have imposed the Gangster Act against all the six people who were arrested from a hideout in Thakurganj area here Saturday with nearly 100 units of blood in their possession. Raids are on to arrest other members of the gang.

'Currently, they are lodged in the district jail for 14 days. We will soon take them on remand for further interrogation,' Additional Superintendent of Police Vinay Chandra told IANS.

The gang used to buy blood from professional donors like drug addicts, rickshaw pullers and beggars and would mix it with saline water to make three units from one unit of blood, police said. This was sold at Rs.1,000-1,500 per unit.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the state has suspended the drug inspectors of Lucknow and Mau.

'The raids began Tuesday evening across the state and are still in progress. Besides drug inspectors and other experts of our department, a police team is also assisting them in the inspection,' Lalit Verma, commissioner, FDA told IANS.

Nearly a dozen hospitals and pathology labs have been inspected in Lucknow itself where it is suspected that the accused used to supply adulterated blood. Other districts where raids have been conducted are Agra, Kanpur and Mau.

Initial investigations into the adulterated blood trading racket in Lucknow have revealed the involvement of many hospitals and blood banks, police said.

According to police sources, the pathology lab located in the Sarojininagar area in Lucknow is owned by U.