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Time of India
07-08-2025
- Time of India
Dose of deception: Delhi cops bust fake life-saving drugs racket; 1.1L counterfeit tablets and capsules seized; 2 illegal factories sealed
Delhi Police have dismantled a significant counterfeit drug operation, seizing over 1.1 lakh fake tablets and capsules valued at crores NEW DELHI: Delhi Police's crime branch on Wednesday claimed to have busted a spurious drugs racket with the recovery of a massive cache of fake life-saving medicines. Six people, including the alleged kingpin, have been arrested. The haul includes over 1.1 lakh counterfeit tablets and capsules, with an estimated market value running into several crores. Packaging machinery and raw materials from two illegal factories in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh have also been seized. You Can Also Check: Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi Joint commissioner of police (crime) Surender Kumar formed a team under the supervision of DCP (crime) Harsh Indora to act on an intelligence about a consignment of counterfeit medicines entering Delhi. Three teams, headed by inspector Pawan Kumar, carried out the operation under the supervision of ACP Bhagwati Prasad. "According to the input received, fake medicines of reputed pharmaceutical companies were being brought into the national capital. Coordination was established with technical experts from the firms concerned to verify the authenticity of the products on the spot. Following systematic surveillance, police laid a trap at HP CNG petrol pump, Sham Nath Marg, Civil Lines, on July 30," said DCP Indora. A car was intercepted, and two Moradabad residents, Mohammad Alam (35) and his elder brother Mohammad Saleem (42), were caught with counterfeit medicines, said police. Company representatives confirmed discrepancies in packaging and stamping and lab reports later declared the products fake. "Subsequent interrogation and follow-up raids exposed an extensive interstate network with links to Moradabad, Deoria and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh; Panipat and Jind in Haryana; and Baddi and Solan in Himachal Pradesh," DCP Indora said. Police said the syndicate used encrypted apps, fictitious accounts and hawala channels for communication and payments. Cops seized more than 1 lakh counterfeit tablets and capsules of various life-saving drugs, 74 boxes of steroid injections, 1,166 tubes of skin ointment, about 150kg loose tablets, 20kg loose capsules, a heavy-duty medicine packing machine, 10 foil rolls and large quantities of blank boxes of multiple brands from two factories in Jind and Solan's Parwanoo. Apart from Alam and Saleem, the others arrested include alleged mastermind Rajesh Mishra (52) from Gorakhpur, Mohammad Zuvaier (29) from Moradabad, Prem Shankar Prajapati (25) from Deoria and Parmanand (50) from Jind. According to police, Zuvaier was the key supplier and a mid-level distributor while Prajapati acted as an intermediary, moving consignments from manufacturing units to local handlers. Mishra allegedly orchestrated the entire racket, from sourcing packaging material to overseeing production and payments through benami accounts. Parmanand owned and operated 'Laxmi Maa Pharma,' where large-scale manufacturing of counterfeit medicines took place without a valid licence, said police.
Indian Express
07-08-2025
- Indian Express
Fake life-saving drugs under labels of top brands: Pan-India racket busted, 6 arrested
From Johnson & Johnson to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a pan-India racket involved in producing counterfeit life-saving drugs under the labels of top pharmaceutical companies has been busted by the Crime Branch's Anti-Gang Squad, the Delhi Police said on Wednesday. Six persons, including the kingpin of the racket, have been arrested. Approximately 150 kg of loose tablets, 20 kg of loose capsules allegedly, 9,000 counterfeit tablets of Ultracet (Johnson & Johnson), 6,100 fake tablets of Augmentin 625 (GSK) and other fake drugs were allegedly recovered during the raids. Two factories involved in the racket have been busted in Haryana's Jind and Himachal Pradesh's Baddi. The racket, officers said, involved a pan-India network in Moradabad, Deoria, Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh; Panipat and Jind in Haryana and Baddi and Solan in Himachal Pradesh. The six arrested accused — identified as Rajesh Mishra (52), Parmanand (50), brothers Md Alam (35) and Md Saleem (42), Md Zuvaier (29) and Prem Shankar Prajapati (25) — allegedly operated using encrypted apps to communicate, and fictitious accounts and hawala channels were used to receive money, said police. Mishra has been identified as the mastermind. 'The kingpin used his prior experience in the pharmaceutical sector to start counterfeit production at a clandestine unit in Jind operated by Parmanand under the name Maha Laxmi,' DCP (CRIME) Harsh Indora said. Mishra would allegedly load fake tablets — produced in his factory — into duplicate boxes of reputed pharmaceutical brands, which he got from other accused. 'Foil materials and dies used for blister packing were procured from Baddi, Himachal Pradesh through one Govind Mishra. The packages were supplied via train to Gorakhpur and distributed by handlers like Prem Shankar to ground-level dealers such as Mohd Alam and Mohd Saleem,' DCP Indora said. The syndicate came under the police radar when Head Constable Jitender got a tip-off regarding a consignment of fake medicines arriving in Delhi, said officers. A detailed plan was formulated under the supervision of senior officers. Three dedicated teams headed by Inspector Pawan Kumar were constituted to carry out the operation under the supervision of ACP Bhagwati Prasad and overall supervision of DCP (Crime) Harsh Indora. Legal representatives and technical experts from GSK and Johnson & Johnson were contacted to verify the authenticity of suspected products on the spot. The operation was initiated through systematic surveillance, followed by strategic interception at a fuel station, said officers. 'Acting on the initial input, on July 30, a trap was laid at the HP CNG Petrol Pump, Shyamnath Marg, Civil Lines, Delhi. A WagonR was intercepted and two occupants, Mohd Alam and Mohd Saleem from Moradabad in UP were found transporting counterfeit medicines,' said Indora. 'Accused Mohd Alam and Mohd Zuvaier (29) were introduced to counterfeit medicine suppliers like Arun and Prem through messages. Medicines were sourced from suppliers such as Arun (Maharajganj), Komal (Karnal), Sumit (Gorakhpur), and others,' Indora added. The scale and spread of this counterfeit medicine racket posed a serious threat to public health and corporate integrity, especially for reputable pharmaceutical brands, said police. According to the police, investigations are going on to trace the source of raw materials, financial transactions, and other co-accused.
