The CDSCO East Zone, Kolkata, unearthed counterfeit medicines of about ₹2 crore across manufacturers like Sun Pharmaceutical, Alkem, Cipla, Glenmark, GSK, Abbott, Novartis, Dr Reddy’s, Aristo among others. The items were seized from unlicensed premises in Kolkata.
According to a Health Ministry statements, one person was arrested and sent to judicial custody for 10 days.
The Ministry said it had received a complaint from Sun Pharma Laboratories Ltd through an email in January regarding selling and storage of suspected spurious (counterfeit) products (of the company) in one of the wholesale markets of Kolkata. Accordingly, CDSCO East Zone (Rakesh Sharma, Drugs Inspector and Yash Pal Singh, Drugs Inspector) in supervision of Kamal K Halder (ADC, CDSCO-East Zone), along with assistance from officers of directorate of Drugs Control, West Bengal conducted raid at the market. Around ₹10 lakh worth of fake medicines were seized from the raid at the market.
Further investigation into the matter led to details being obtained about unlicensed warehouses where further raids were carried out and arrests made, a Health Ministry official said.