Fake drugs racket busted in Gujarat

Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad police along with the Food and Drugs Control Administration (FDCA) have busted a racket where drugs were being allegedly packaged and sold under the brand names of leading pharmaceutical companies.

The police on Friday arrested four persons following a raid on an illegal packaging unit being run by a father and son duo where locally manufactured tablets and other medicines were packaged in wrappers of pharma companies that include Pfizer, Glaxo SmithKline, Novartis, Torrent and Sun Pharma.

The Ahmedabad Police Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Mr A. K. Sharma, said that the illegal packaging racket had been going on for eight years and the police have seized drugs worth Rs 49 crore today.

The drugs were manufactured at a unit located in Karela industrial estate, about 50 km from Ahmedabad, Mr Sharma said, adding that the owner of the unit was absconding.