Fake medicine racket busted in Delhi, 10 arrested

The Delhi Police announced on Thursday that they have apprehended 10 individuals allegedly involved in the production and distribution of counterfeit medications, including painkillers and antibiotics, across the National Capital Region.

Sanjay Bhatia, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), revealed that in the past four weeks, law enforcement has dismantled several networks operating within this illicit trade.

Elaborating on the operation, Bhatia disclosed that due to a noticeable uptick in the circulation of fake drugs in Delhi’s retail markets, the Crime Branch deployed three teams to gather intelligence on these unlawful operations in the Delhi-NCR region.

During a routine vehicle check under Tilak Bridge, a significant quantity of counterfeit Ultracet, Amaryl 1M, Gluconorm, and Defcort tablets were seized, leading to the arrest of two individuals.

Upon interrogation, one suspect confessed to the spurious nature of the medicines and implicated two additional suppliers, who were subsequently apprehended. In total, over 44,500 tablets of Ultracet, Amaryl 1M, Gluconorm, and Defcort-6 were confiscated.

In a separate incident, another individual was detained in Uttam Nagar, with 730 counterfeit tablets of the same brands seized from him.

A third team intercepted three more suspects in various locations within the trans-Yamuna area, seizing approximately 57,000 fake Ultracet tablets.

Authorities emphasised the public safety risks posed by these counterfeit medications and have registered a case under sections 420, 328, 120B of the IPC, along with sections 63 and 65 of the Copyright Act.

Further investigation revealed that the fake Ultracet tablets were being produced at a factory in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh. The owner of the facility and one employee were subsequently arrested.

These illicit tablets were reportedly transported from Mandi to Panipat, Haryana, and then to Delhi. Investigations also uncovered that the spurious tablets were sold to a medical store in Delhi’s Geeta Colony.

Subsequent raids were conducted in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, resulting in the seizure of substantial quantities of counterfeit tablets. (With inputs from PTI)