From Johnson & Johnson to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a pan-India racket involved in producing counterfeit life-saving drugs under the labels of top pharmaceutical companies has been busted by the Crime Branch’s Anti-Gang Squad, the Delhi Police said on Wednesday. Six persons, including the kingpin of the racket, have been arrested.
Approximately 150 kg of loose tablets, 20 kg of loose capsules allegedly, 9,000 counterfeit tablets of Ultracet (Johnson & Johnson), 6,100 fake tablets of Augmentin 625 (GSK) and other fake drugs were allegedly recovered during the raids. Two factories involved in the racket have been busted in Haryana’s Jind and Himachal Pradesh’s Baddi.
The racket, officers said, involved a pan-India network in Moradabad, Deoria, Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh; Panipat and Jind in Haryana and Baddi and Solan in Himachal Pradesh.
The six arrested accused — identified as Rajesh Mishra (52), Parmanand (50), brothers Md Alam (35) and Md Saleem (42), Md Zuvaier (29) and Prem Shankar Prajapati (25) — allegedly operated using encrypted apps to communicate, and fictitious accounts and hawala channels were used to receive money, said police.
Mishra has been identified as the mastermind. “The kingpin used his prior experience in the pharmaceutical sector to start counterfeit production at a clandestine unit in Jind operated by Parmanand under the name Maha Laxmi,” DCP (CRIME) Harsh Indora said.
Mishra would allegedly load fake tablets — produced in his factory — into duplicate boxes of reputed pharmaceutical brands, which he got from other accused. “Foil materials and dies used for blister packing were procured from Baddi, Himachal Pradesh through one Govind Mishra. The packages were supplied via train to Gorakhpur and distributed by handlers like Prem Shankar to ground-level dealers such as Mohd Alam and Mohd Saleem,” DCP Indora said.
The syndicate came under the police radar when Head Constable Jitender got a tip-off regarding a consignment of fake medicines arriving in Delhi, said officers. A detailed plan was formulated under the supervision of senior officers. Three dedicated teams headed by Inspector Pawan Kumar were constituted to carry out the operation under the supervision of ACP Bhagwati Prasad and overall supervision of DCP (Crime) Harsh Indora.
Legal representatives and technical experts from GSK and Johnson & Johnson were contacted to verify the authenticity of suspected products on the spot. The operation was initiated through systematic surveillance, followed by strategic interception at a fuel station, said officers.
“Acting on the initial input, on July 30, a trap was laid at the HP CNG Petrol Pump, Shyamnath Marg, Civil Lines, Delhi. A WagonR was intercepted and two occupants, Mohd Alam and Mohd Saleem from Moradabad in UP were found transporting counterfeit medicines,” said Indora.
“Accused Mohd Alam and Mohd Zuvaier (29) were introduced to counterfeit medicine suppliers like Arun and Prem through messages. Medicines were sourced from suppliers such as Arun (Maharajganj), Komal (Karnal), Sumit (Gorakhpur), and others,” Indora added. The scale and spread of this counterfeit medicine racket posed a serious threat to public health and corporate integrity, especially for reputable pharmaceutical brands, said police.
According to the police, investigations are going on to trace the source of raw materials, financial transactions, and other co-accused.
