In December and January, the DCA uncovered illicit drug operations in Hyderabad when they seized counterfeit drugs valued at ₹26 lakh.
Published Jan 19, 2024 | 2:43 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 19, 2024 | 2:43 PM
Acting on intelligence inputs, DCA officials targeted a warehouse located in Azad Nagar, Amberpet. (Creative Commons)
In the early hours of Friday, 19 January, Telangana Drugs Control Administration (DCA) officials conducted a raid on an unlicensed warehouse located in Amberpet, Hyderabad. A substantial inventory of medicines — valued at ₹20.52 lakh — was seized during the operation.
Additionally, the raid uncovered significant stock of “Telangana Government Supply Drugs”, integral to the state’s drug distribution network for government hospitals, as disclosed by DCA Director General VB Kamalasan Reddy in an official statement.
Acting on intelligence inputs, DCA officials targeted a warehouse located in Azad Nagar, Amberpet. The Director General said that the warehouse, operated by one Mohammed Basheer Ahmed, was functioning without a proper drug license, engaging in the unlawful sale of pharmaceuticals.
The inspection conducted on 18 and 19 January revealed numerous cardboard shipper cartons within the warehouse containing a substantial inventory of medicines.
“Forty varieties of medicines, including higher-generation antibiotics, paediatric syrups, antiulcer drugs, analgesic drugs, antibiotic injections, antimalarial drugs, etc., were found in the warehouse during the raid,” he said in a statement.
The medicines discovered in the warehouse predominantly bear the label of “Ashley Pharmatech Pvt Ltd” of Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, as the marketers. These medicines also display information about various manufacturers located in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Among the drugs found in the warehouse are those supplied by the Telangana government, including “Amoxycillin capsules IP 500 mg” manufactured by Goa Antibiotics and Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Pernem, Goa, and “Azithromycin tablets IP 500 mg” manufactured by Stride Organics Pvt Ltd, Ghatkesar, Medchal.
Amoxycillin, an antibiotic, is typically prescribed by doctors for treating pathogenic infections.
During the raid, Basheer Ahmed did not disclose the origin of the medicine stocks and failed to provide purchase bills for the pharmaceuticals. He further admitted to distributing medicines to various medical shops in the state without issuing sales bills.
Officers seized stocks of medicines suspected to be spurious or counterfeit during the operation.
In December 2023 and January 2024, the DCA of Telangana uncovered illicit drug operations in Hyderabad when they seized counterfeit drugs valued at ₹26 lakh originating from Kashipur in Uttarakhand, and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, transported through courier services.
The DCA officials, during raids conducted in December and January, identified and confiscated several other counterfeit drugs.
These fake medicines were falsely labelled under the names of well-known pharmaceutical companies, including Sun Pharma (Rosuvas 10 for high cholesterol treatment), Glenmark Pharma (Telma H, Telma 40 for hypertension treatment), Aristo Pharmaceuticals (Monocef-O 200 for antibiotic treatment), and Torrent Pharma (Chymoral Forte for pain relief and swelling).
Furthermore, the DCA officials uncovered three varieties of antibiotics, namely Mpod-200 (Cefpodoxime Proxetil and Lactic Acid Bacillus tablets), Mexclav 625 (Amoxicillin and Potassium Clavulanate, Lactic Acid Bacillus tablets), and Cefoxim-CV tablets (Cefpodoxime Proxetil and Potassium Clavulanate, Lactic Acid Bacillus tablets).
“These antibiotics were falsely labelled as manufactured by ‘Meg Lifesciences, Palli Gaon, Sirmour, Himachal Pradesh’, a company found to be fictitious and non-existent,” said DCA officials.
