Gurgaon drug bust: 2 held with Rs 70L fake Mounjaro injections; Delhi supply route on radar

GURGAON: Two men were arrested with a consignment of spurious Mounjaro KwikPen (tirzepatide) injections worth more than Rs 70 lakh by the drugs control department after finding discrepancies in labelling and storage in its spot memo. Acting on specific inputs about illegal stocking and sale of the drug, a joint team of drug inspectors and police intercepted a Swift Dzire near Super Mart-1 around 7.25pm. The car was carrying injections in strengths ranging from 2.5 mg to 15 mg. The stock was packed in cartons and transported in ice boxes. The driver told officials he was operating a cab booked for a Gurgaon drop. A passenger in the car was detained and identified as Mujammil Khan. He told officials the consignment belonged to Avi Sharma, a resident of Sohna. Sharma was called to the spot. The spot memo has stated that Sharma failed to produce a valid licence for stocking, selling or distributing the drug. It also records that the recovered injections were not stored at the prescribed temperature of 2°C to 8°C. During physical verification, officials found discrepancies in product labelling. The memo stated that "the font size of original product and recovered product was mismatch" and noted variations in other labelling details. It added that these discrepancies make the product "spurious and not manufactured by the manufacturer." The authorities invoked provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, including Section 17B on spurious drugs and penal sections 27(a) and 27(c). Khan and Sharma were arrested at the spot. District drug controller Amandeep Chauhan said preliminary questioning is underway. "We are examining the packaging, quality and authenticity of the injections. It is being verified if these were sourced from a licensed company or supplied illegally," he said. One injection is estimated to cost around ₹28,000.Officials said the sale of these batches has been recommended to be halted in public interest until verification is completed. They added that the investigation is continuing to trace the source and distribution network of the seized stock. Preliminary inputs suggested the consignment may have been routed through Delhi's Bhagirath Palace market, while billing records pointed to an address in Gurgaon. "We are tracing the entire supply chain. Once the source and links are established, action will be taken against all those involved," an official said.