Delhi: Fake life-saving drug racket busted, Kingpin held

Six people, including the kingpin, were arrested dismantling a pan-India counterfeit life-saving drug syndicate here that used social media platforms to connect with new suppliers and customers, officials said on Wednesday.

The accused identified as Rajesh Mishra (52), Parmanand (50), two brothers – Md Alam (35) and Md Saleem (42), Md Zuvaier (29) and Prem Shankar Prajapati (25), were allegedly involved in the illegal manufacture, packaging, and distribution of fake life-saving medicines under the labels of reputed pharmaceutical companies such as Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and Alkem, police said.

“The syndicate used social media platforms to initiate contact with new suppliers and customers. Communications were carried out through encrypted messaging platforms, and payments were routed via hawala and fictitious accounts to avoid detection,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Harsh Indora said.

The racket operated through a layered system involving procurement of counterfeit packaging, printing of fake labels, mass production, and sale through unlicensed medical practitioners and certain medical stores, he added.

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Payment transactions were made via mobile wallets and barcodes, or routed through relatives’ accounts to mask trails. Recovered mobile phones revealed saved contacts with aliases like ‘Komal ji Karnal’, ‘Amit Jain Skinshine Delhi’, ‘Pappy Bhaiya GKP’, indicating deliberate concealment, Indora said. The retail distribution occurred via trusted medical storefronts or direct supply to unlicensed rural practitioners, the officer said.

The kingpin, Rajesh Mishra, allegedly operated across multiple states and sourced empty packaging boxes resembling reputed pharmaceutical brands with the help of Neha Sharma and Pankaj Sharma. Materials used for blister packing were procured from Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, through one Govind Mishra.

The manufacturing of counterfeit tablets, particularly Ultracet, was carried out at a unit in Jind, Haryana, owned by Parmanand. Once the medicines were manufactured, they were supplied via rail to Gorakhpur and distributed by handlers like Prem Shankar to ground-level dealers such as Alam and Saleem.

Further, the group allegedly used regular couriers and personal vehicles for logistics to avoid suspicion.

“Two clandestine factories located in Haryana’s Jind and Himachal Pradesh’s Baddi were busted during the operation, with a large cache of counterfeit drugs such as Ultracet, Augmentin 625, Pan-40, and Betnovate-N skin cream seized from their possession,” Indora said, adding that the racket spanned several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh.

The investigation began following a tip-off about a consignment of fake medicines arriving in Delhi.

“On July 30, a car was intercepted at a fuel station in Civil Lines. Two suspects, Md Alam and Md Saleem of Moradabad, were caught transporting counterfeit medicines,” the DCP mentioned.

Experts from Johnson & Johnson and GSK, called to the spot, confirmed the medicines were fake, he added. Subsequent raids based on disclosures made by the accused led to the unravelling of a vast and organised supply chain involving multiple locations and actors across states.

Rajesh Mishra, a resident of Gorakhpur, had prior pharmaceutical experience and coordinated production and distribution through benami accounts and encrypted apps.

Parmanand, owner of Laxmi Maa Pharma in Jind, Haryana, ran the primary manufacturing unit. Though licensed for drug storage, he had no authority to manufacture medicines. Md Alam and Md Saleem, brothers from Moradabad, were arrested while transporting fake drugs. Their interrogation led to further leads, the police said.

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Md Zuvaier, also from Moradabad, played a key role as a supplier and was linked through digital and financial evidence. Prem Shankar Prajapati from Deoria, UP, acted as a transporter, connecting manufacturing units to local distributors.

The police recovered 9,015 tablets of Ultracet (Johnson & Johnson), 6,100 tablets of Augmentin 625 (GSK), 1,200 tablets of Pan-40 (Alkem), 1,166 tubes of Betnovate-N cream (GSK), 25,650 tablets of Amoxicillin, 5,900 tablets of PCM, 2,700 tablets of PAN DSR, 74 boxes of steroid injections (Kanacort), 12,000 tablets of Proyco SPAS and additional stocks of Clavam 625, Zerodol P, Pantop DSR, Chymotri Plus.

They also recovered a heavy-duty medicine packing machine, 150 kg of loose tablets, 20 kg of capsules, and hundreds of blank boxes used to mimic authentic brands.

The seized medicines posed a serious risk to public health, particularly because they mimicked critical medications used to treat infections, pain, and other ailments, the police noted.

A probe has been initiated to trace the source of raw materials, other members of the syndicate and financial networks used in the operation.