BENGALURU: Karnataka Health Minister U T Khader on Tuesday said the probe into a major interstate counterfeit drug racket has led to the arrest of the owner of a healthcare firm, with investigators now probing the suspected supply of fake medicines and ICU injections to hospitals and clinics.
Khader said the Karnataka government had busted the fake drug racket in what he described as one of the biggest crackdowns of its kind in the country.
Sharing a news report on X, Khader recalled that on August 18, the state’s Health & Family Welfare Department and the Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration raided a farmhouse near the Bidadi Toll Gate and seized suspected fake and expired medicines worth nearly Rs 5 crore.
He said the preliminary investigation had revealed a “deeply concerning” modus operandi with interstate ramifications.
According to Khader, the network was procuring cheap bulk drugs from manufacturing hubs in Telangana and Himachal Pradesh, refilling them into new vials at the Bidadi facility and relabelling them as premium imported brands of multinational companies, including a top brand, with counterfeit drugs allegedly intended for patients and ICU wards.
“We did not wait a single day. On August 19, After discussion with Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Home minister Priyank Kharge constituted a six-member SIT headed by a senior IPS officer to lead a major inter-state investigation, with officers of the Food Safety & Drug Administration and Commercial Taxes Departments on the team,” Khader said.
He said the full list of spurious and counterfeit drugs had been communicated to the Union government and all states.
The minister said every hospital and nursing home in Karnataka had been directed not to use the seized medicines.
Khader also recalled that he had written in detail to Union Health Minister JP Nadda seeking the support of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and central regulatory agencies to map the network’s supply chain and stop nationwide distribution.
Khader said the SIT was now investigating the suspected supply of counterfeit medicines and ICU injections to hospitals and clinics in Bengaluru.
“The investigation is underway, and I will place the complete findings before the public once it concludes. We will track down every link in their network, dismantle it brick by brick and ensure every person responsible faces the harshest punishment under law,” he said, adding that there would be no mercy for anyone who profits from patient’s desperation.
He assured that the Karnataka government would safeguard its patients.
“That is not just a promise. It is also warning to every counterfeiter in this country,” Khader added.
