Spurious drug racket busted in Hyderabad; drugs worth ₹6.91 lakh seized

Telangana officials uncover spurious drug racket in Hyderabad, seizing antibiotics worth ₹6.91 lakh; investigation ongoing

In a coordinated operation, officials from the Telangana Drugs Control Administration (DCA) and the Special Task Force (STF) of the Prohibition and Excise Department uncovered a spurious drug racket in Hyderabad on Friday (November 22, 2024).

‘Antibiotics’ worth ₹6.91 lakh were seized during the raid.

The investigation began with a raid on the premises of Shree Tirupati Courier Services Private Limited in Balanagar, where officials found cardboard boxes labelled as dispatched from ‘Shree Pharma’ in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. The packages were addressed to Shiv Pharma Distributors in IDPL Colony, Adarsh Nagar, Hyderabad. Acting on this lead, the officers tracked the shipment’s delivery to a recipient, Gandla Ramulu, in Karmanghat.

A subsequent raid on a crockery shop in Karmanghat, where Ramulu had taken delivery of the consignment, led to the discovery of four varieties of spurious antibiotics.

During questioning, Ramulu admitted to sourcing the fake medicines from Prayagraj through a contact named Munishekhar, based in Proddatur, Andhra Pradesh. He further disclosed plans to distribute the counterfeit drugs to associates in Karimnagar and Kurnool, the department said in a release.

Officials revealed that the firms listed on the drug labels, Geenac Pharma in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, and Wellnow Healthcare in Mumbai were fictitious entities.

A case has been registered at the Saroornagar Excise Station under Sections 8(c) and 22(c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. An investigation is underway to trace the network and identify other individuals involved, the release said.

Published - November 23, 2024 04:30 am IST