The city police and the Drug Control Administration (DCA) have busted a spurious drug manufacturing racket run by qualified pharmacists of Uttarakhand.
The gang led by Vishal Anasane owner of Innova Drugs & Pharmaceuticals, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, has been pumping spurious drugs that resemble original products of Janssen (a pharmaceutical division of Johnson & Johnson), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Torrent Pharmaceuticals and others into the drug market of Andhra Pradesh and other States in the country with the help of local drug dealers and traders.
At a press conference, Commissioner of Police D. Gautam Sawang said that the city police registered a case of spurious drugs on October 31 in the One Town police station after the Janssen lodged a complaint. Later, police roped in the DCA to trace the origin of the company that has been manufacturing and supplying the spurious drugs.
A team of One Town police, task force teams and others with the support of the DCA found out that Vishal, a pharmacist, floated a company one year ago with ₹3 crore investment and later joined hands with four locals to manufacture the spurious drugs, mostly painkillers, police said.
The drugs were supplied to dealers and retailers across the State and some of them have been identified by the city police.
On Monday, Vishal, Md. Naseem, a pharmacist from Uttarakhand and Munisekhar of Lalitha Medicals, Allagadda were arrested.
More in circulation
Spurious drugs worth ₹8 lakh and ₹50 lakh worth recalled spurious drugs (Krishna and Guntur) along with entire machinery at Innova Drugs and Pharmaceuticals were seized and will be produced before the court, DCP Kranti Rana Tata said. However, there are still crores worth drugs in distribution across the State. They include tables like Ultracet, Pantocid, Shelcal 500, Chymoral Forte, Udiliv 300, Acitrom 2 and Pantocid capsules and Skinlite ointment. However, the medicines are not harmful when consumed as the material used to make them are mostly flour and other food material, officials said.
The One Town police earlier arrested P. Ravikumar of Sai Medicals, Vijayawada, Phanikumar of Harikrishna Medicals, NarasaraoppPet, Chaitanya of Durga Medicals, Guntur, Prithvi Raj of Maheswari Medicals, Nandyal and Ramakrishna were arrested.
Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas appreciated the efforts of the city police and the DCA.
