Fairness creams to fake medicines: How Telangana drug control seized stock worth Rs 20.Cr, conducted 144 raids

Hyderabad: Cracking a whip on illegal drug operations, overpricing, and misleading advertisements, the Telangana Drug Control Administration (DCA) has seized medicines worth Rs 20.21 crore in different raids.

The raids were carried out from December 4, 2023, to May 22, 2024.

Spurious Drug Rackets busted by DCA, Telangana:

Speaking to the NewsMeter, DCA director-general VB Kamalasan Reddy said that after accounting for all cases, the largest seizure was recorded on March 21 from the Bollaram Industrial Area in Sangareddy.

Authorities discovered PSN Medicare Private Ltd was producing 3-methylmethcathinone’ which is also known as ‘3-MMC’ or ‘Mephedrone’. It is a drug of abuse that is used recreationally by drug addicts, and they confiscated stock valued at Rs 8.99 crore.

On March 22, the joint operation carried out by DCA Telangana along with Prohibition & Excise Department successfully busted illegal manufacturing of the Psychotropic Substances ‘Alpha-PiHP’ at Medchem Labs, IDA Bollaram, Sangareddy District and ‘3-Methylmethcathinone (3-MMC)’ at Vanamali Organics Pvt Ltd., IDA Mankhal, Ranga Reddy District.

During the joint operation, officials seized the stock of Alpha-PiHP of quantity 2.850 kgs worth Rs. 1.19 crores during the raid at Medchem Labs and stock of 3-MMC of quantity 11.5 Kgs worth Rs. 1.14 crores during the raid at Vanamali Organics Pvt. Ltd. Stocks of total worth Rs. 2.33 crores were seized during the joint operation. ‘Alpha-PiHP’ and ‘3-MMC’ are drugs of abuse that are circulating on the drug market and are illegally used as psychostimulant drugs, Reddy said.

On December 4, 2023, the DCA raided an unlicensed premises at Machabollaram and detected counterfeit/spurious anti-cancer drugs claimed to be manufactured by a non-existent company, ‘Astra Generics Pvt. Ltd.’ During the raid, 36 varieties of drugs, including certain spurious anti-cancer drugs, were seized. The total worth of drugs seized was Rs. 4.35 crore, he said.

Similarly, on December 29, 2023, a special team conducted raids in Hyderabad after receiving information regarding the entry of spurious drugs into the state from Kashipur, Uttarakhand. The team, assisted by the Task Force, busted a spurious/counterfeit drug racket involving fake antibiotics, hypertension and cholesterol medicines, and analgesics. Stocks worth Rs 26 lakhs were seized.

The spurious drugs were shipped to Hyderabad through the courier company 'Trackon Couriers Pvt. Ltd.' from Kashipur, Uttarakhand, falsely declared as parcels containing 'Machine Parts' by Amar Pharmaceuticals, Ramnagar Road, Kashipur, and delivered to Puvvada Lakshman, Hyderabad.

On December 29, 2023, DCA busted a spurious/counterfeit drugs manufacturing racket at Kukatpally, Hyderabad. Rams Pharmaceuticals was found manufacturing counterfeit Anti Ulcer medicines in the name of a Punjab-based company without a valid drug license, under the guise of being a Food Supplement manufacturer. These counterfeit drugs were then supplied to a wholesale distributor Biomedic Pharmaceutical in Nizamabad, the DCA director-general said.

On January 3, the DCA busted a counterfeit/spurious antibiotics racket involving the shipment of fake antibiotics to the State from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. DCA seized fake antibiotics worth Rs. 22.95 lakhs during raids at Uppal and Dilsukhnagar, Hyderabad. Between February 27 and 29, for the first time, a meticulously coordinated inter-state operation named "Operation JAI" was executed by the DCA, Telangana, Commissioner’s Task Force, Hyderabad, and Malakpet Police.

The operation led to the busting of Nectar Herbs and Drugs, located in Kotdwar, Uttarakhand, manufacturing counterfeit drugs (spurious drugs) and distributing them to several states, including Telangana. Stocks worth Rs. 44.33 lakhs were seized during the raid. Interstate arrests were made, and a case was registered against the offenders, Reddy said.

Other key seizures by DCA:

The DCA director-general said that apart from busting major spurious drug rackets, the department also carried out 144 raids across the state including hospitals, unlicensed godowns, clinics, and laboratories from January 9 to May 22.

During the raids, the officials seized huge stocks of medicines without labels, insulin injections, fairness creams, sunscreen lotions, antifungal drugs, anticancer drugs, antibiotic products, ashwagandha churna, homeopathic medicines, steroid medicines, anti-diabetic drugs, unani medicines, allopathic medicines, ayurvedic medicines and overpriced drugs worth Rs 2.45 crore, he said.

Reddy said that the highest seizure was Rs 23.93 lakh made at Ovoid Pharmachem Pvt. Ltd in Quthbullapur on April 3. The officials seized 19 drums containing stocks of 87 kgs of Itraconazole 35 percent pellets and 800 kgs of activated charcoal 250 mg and Simethicone 80 mg pellets, manufactured without a drug license.

Informing the details of other seizures made by the DCA, he said on March 18, the officials raided Sri Balaji Agencies, Kachiguda, Hyderabad, and seized Rs 16 lakh worth of insulin products claimed to be manufactured by reputed pharma companies procured by wholesalers from New Delhi without any purchase bills and sold with discounts more than 40 percent.

On the same day, the other teams also raided Sri Ganesh Pharma Distributors, Uppal, Hyderabad, Shree Paras Medical Agencies, Sultan Bazar, Hyderabad, and Sree Thirumala Pharma in Medchal - Malkajgiri District seized Rs 14 lakh, Rs 9 lakh and Rs 3.52 lakh worth insulin products respectively claimed to be manufactured by reputed pharma companies procured by wholesalers from New Delhi without any purchase bills and sold with discounts more than 40 percent, the DCA director-general said.

As part of the raids, the DCA officials carried out their raids on Shakil Industries, Mehdipatnam (Special Karachi Mehndi Cone manufacturer), Iswarya Fertility Centre (Malakpet), SL Health Care (Kukatpally), Haemo Service Laboratories (Moosapet), Aspen Biopharma Labs Pvt Ltd (Shameerpet), Maxtra Laboratories (Chengicherla) and Life Slimming and Cosmetics Pvt Ltd (Banjara Hills) in Hyderabad and its suburbs.

Simultaneously, the DCA officials along with other departments also raided hospitals, unlicensed godowns, medical shops, clinics, and laboratories in Khammam, Suryapet, Kodad, Nizamabad, Sangareddy, Nagarkurnool, Godavarikhani, Jacherla, Siricilla, Warangal, Wanaparthy, Mahabubabad, Bhadrachalam, Hanamkonda, Medak, Karimnagar, Nalgonda, and other districts, Reddy said. “We will continue our raids in the upcoming months as well and seize the medicines and manufacturing units in Telangana flouting norms. All the arrested have been sent on remand,” he added.

Unlicensed drug manufacturing: Detections, Raids, Seizures:

During raids carried out by DCA in December 2023, the officers detected unlicensed manufacturing ‘Dapoxetine Hydrochloride’ at Meka Labs, Gaddapotharam Village in Sangareddy District, and seized the drug Dapoxetine Hydrochloride of quantity 284 Kgs worth Rs 20 lakh. In January 2024, DCA officers detected unlicensed manufacturing of the drug ‘Diacerein’ at Rakshit Drugs Pvt. Ltd., Unit II in Sangareddy District, and seized the stock of 236 Kgs of the drug ‘Diacerein’ worth Rs. 50.25 lakhs during the raid.

Narcotic Drugs / Psychotropic Substances: Detections, Raids, Seizures:

On March 15 and 16, the DCA carried out raids with TSNAB (Telangana State Anti-Narcotics Bureau), Prohibition and Excise Department, Commissioner’s Task Force, Hyderabad, Kushaiguda Police, and Jagtial District Police, and busted the illegal diversion of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drugs by Dr G Madanmohan, an ENT Surgeon at Manasa ENT Hospital in Jagtial. Madanmohan illegally diverted narcotic drugs from the operation theatre and sent them to Hyderabad through courier/parcel, thereby supplying them to a drug addict in Sainikpuri.