Fake medicine racket busted, 4 arrested

New Delhi: The crime branch has busted an interstate syndicate allegedly involved in the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit life-saving medicines. Four key operatives were arrested following a raid in north Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar and a large cache of pharmaceutical products and equipment was seized.

The syndicate was allegedly diverting govt-supplied medicines from Uttar Pradesh and other states, removing original labels, and repackaging them for illegal sale across Delhi-NCR and parts of northeastern India.

The accused have been identified as Manoj Kumar Jain (56), Raju Kumar Mishra (57), Vikram Singh (32) and Vatan (35).

Special commissioner of police (crime) Devesh Chandra Srivastva had formed a team under DCP Pankaj Kumar. Acting on intelligence regarding the circulation of spurious govt-supplied drugs, the crime branch uncovered that the group. A raid at a premises in Mukherjee Nagar led to the arrest of Manoj Kumar Jain and the recovery of a substantial quantity of branded and govt-supplied medicines, suspected spurious drugs, raw materials, packaging and labelling material, and machinery used for repackaging.

The recovered stock included critical medicines such as Albucel (human albumin), Lenvacast 4, Abhayrab Rabies vaccine, Lenvatol and snake venom antiserum, all used in the treatment of life-threatening conditions.

“Jain was identified as the kingpin of the racket. Originally engaged in construction work in Manipur, he later moved to Delhi and, along with associates, began illegal manufacturing and repackaging of medicines nearly a year and a half ago from Mukherjee Nagar,” said joint CP Surender Kumar.

Jain is said to have sourced govt-supplied drugs, altered their packaging and circulated them across Delhi, West Bengal and northeastern states.

Mishra allegedly started a mask and glove business during Covid-19, later shifting to trading third-party medicines and establishing a unit in Punjab’s Derabassi, where counterfeit human albumin was allegedly produced. He is also said to have linked with Jain for distribution in northeastern regions.

Singh, a lab technician running a diagnostics centre in UP’s Prayagraj, allegedly leveraged his proximity to a hospital to identify surplus govt medicines. He later collaborated with Vatan, a surgical supply trader, to procure and resell such stocks. Vatan, who initially ran a PPE-related business during the pandemic, transitioned into surgical supplies and allegedly became part of the procurement network.

Investigators also found that the syndicate operated a structured supply chain in which medicines were transported to Mukherjee Nagar for relabelling or illicit manufacturing, and distributed through networks spanning Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Imphal and other locations. Preliminary findings also indicate the possible use of hawala channels for routing proceeds, with a detailed financial probe underway.
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