DCA shuts quack’s shop in Mancherial, seizes fake cures for diabetes, kidney stones in Ranga Reddy

Hyderabad: The Drugs Control Administration (DCA), Telangana, conducted raids on Wednesday in Mancherial, Nizamabad and Ranga Reddy districts uncovering multiple instances of illegal drug-related activities. These included the seizure of drugs from a quack’s clinic, falsely manufactured products sold under food licenses and medicines with misleading claims.

Raid on quack’s clinic in Mancherial

Acting on credible information, DCA officials raided the premises of Sudhakar Boddula, an individual practising medicine without proper credentials, in Naspur Village.

As many as 76 varieties of medicines, including antibiotics like Cefixime, Cephalexin and Amoxicillin with a total worth of Rs 35,000 were seized.

Mancherial drugs inspector T Chandana highlighted the risks associated with unqualified practitioners selling antibiotics and said, “The indiscriminate sale of antibiotics by unqualified persons can lead to antimicrobial resistance, posing serious public health risks.”

The raid team included drugs inspectors P Shravan Kumar (Peddapalli) and Aswani (Asifabad). Samples were taken for further analysis and investigations are ongoing.

Seizure of falsely advertised nutraceuticals in Nizamabad and Medipally

The DCA uncovered the sale of ferrous ascorbate, folic acid and zinc tablets falsely marketed as nutraceuticals in Armoor, Nizamabad District. The seized stock was labelled ‘Ferrored-XT Tablets’ and found to be manufactured by Macsol Lifescience, Gujarat, and marketed by American Pharma Remedies LLP, Maharashtra.

Similarly, in Chengicherla Village, Medipally mandal, the DCA officials found stocks of ‘Feroze-XT Tablets’ which were manufactured by Ridge Formulations in Himachal Pradesh and marketed by ZeRemedies, Hyderabad.

Misleading advertisements on medicines

The DCA officials seized medicines with prohibited claims under the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954. They found the sale of Daplimet 10 Tablets (Dapagliflozin) as a treatment for diabetes and Nuskha-E-Arabia (Unani) as a cure for heart diseases, obesity and blood pressure.

They found that medical outlets selling Stonego-DS Syrup (Ayurvedic) and Urisafe Herbal Syrup (Ayurvedic) as a treatment for kidney stones

These products were found at locations in Ranga Reddy District, including Attapur, Jubilee Hills and Puppalguda.

Legal consequences of false advertising and public advisory

Violations under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Drugs and Magic Remedies Act can result in imprisonment for up to five years. The DCA has reiterated the importance of ensuring compliance with licensing and manufacturing standards.

VB Kamalasan Reddy, IPS, director general of the DCA, urged the public to be aware of such malpractices: “We request citizens to report any illegal drug-related activities through our toll-free number 1800-599-6969 during working hours.”