Unlicensed drugs seized in Hyderabad

The Drug Control Administration seized 917 kilogrammes of drug pellets used in multi-vitamin and anti-ulcer capsules from Zelos Healthcare in Jeedimetla

June 07, 2013 11:03 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 10:34 pm IST - HYDERABAD:

In a significant breakthrough, the Drug Control Administration (DCA) seized 917 kilograms of drug pellets, used in multi-vitamin and anti-ulcer capsules, from Zelos Healthcare, Jeedimetla, during raids on Thursday.

According to DCA, the firm was manufacturing the drugs without a valid licence.

Zelos Healthcare was manufacturing sugar and starch pellets and then coating them with a thin layer of drugs like Vitamins, Zinc and Iron to produce drug pellets and sell them to dealers in Hyderabad, DCA officials said.

“We took our investigations further and raided Allanthus Biotech and Research Institute, Kukatpally, and seized 790 kilograms of drug pellets worth Rs. 8 lakh from the possession of the company’s Managing Director, G. Veer Raghaviah. We have suspicion that Zelos had supplied the drug pellets to Allanthus,” said Director General, DCA, B.L. Meena, while interacting with press persons here on Friday.

During the raids, the DCA officials said, Rs. 5 lakh worth drug pellets were seized from managing partners of Zelos Healthcare, Konala Ramesh and Mohammad Abdul Waseem. The two companies were booked under Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 for violating Section 18 (c) for manufacturing drugs without licence, Section 17-A for manufacturing drugs in unhygienic conditions and Section 17 for not labelling them properly.

In another raid on Wednesday, drug inspectors seized expired drugs worth Rs. 7 lakh from ARC Parcel Services in Deewan Devdi in the Old City. The expired drugs included antibiotics, anti-allergens, anti-diarrhoeal, condoms, painkillers, antiseptic injections and Sildenafil Citrate, the drug meant for erectile dysfunction.

Meant for villages?

The DCA authorities fear that the expired drugs were meant to be sent to villages in the districts and sold to the gullible public.

“The documents to transport the expired drugs seized from ARC parcel office turned out to be fake. They claimed that the drugs were booked by Giriraj Industries, Masjid Bunder, Mumbai, but our investigations revealed that the Mumbai address was false. The parcel agent Y. V. Sudarshan Rao did not furnish correct information on who booked the parcel from Mumbai and to whom it was being delivered,” the DG said.

In a related development, between June 4 and 6, the Drug Control Administration authorities issued orders to recall drugs worth Rs. 1.1 crore manufactured by Ridley Life Science, New Delhi, and nine drugs of Laborate Pharmaceuticals, Himachal Pradesh.

“The company was printing MRP more than the ceiling prices fixed by National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority,” Dr. Meena said.

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