Bengaluru: The fake drug racket uncovered in Bidadi, Ramanagara district, may have links with similar networks operating across the country, Health Minister U.T. Khader said. Fake medicines worth more than ₹5 crore have been seized in the operation.
Acting on information received from beat police, officials of the Drug Control Department and Food Safety and Drug Administration raided a farmhouse in Bidadi. The premises were allegedly being used to repack low-cost medicines with labels of multinational pharmaceutical companies before supplying them to hospitals and medical stores. One person, identified as Prabhudev, has been arrested.
Possible links to Telangana, Himachal Pradesh
Preliminary investigation has indicated possible connections with fake drug units operating in Telangana, Himachal Pradesh and other parts of the country. The alleged main accused, Prashant, is suspected to be based in Dubai.
Khader said the case should not be treated as a Karnataka-only issue and called for a coordinated interstate and international investigation involving the Union health and home ministries.
Officials are probing the entire supply chain, including the source of the medicines, logistics operators, intermediaries and hospitals and medical stores that may have purchased the counterfeit drugs.
The minister said even ICU medicines and injections were allegedly being counterfeited and sold using the names of reputed pharmaceutical companies, making the racket a serious public health concern.