One More Arrested in Interstate Fake Drug Racket in Bengaluru
The arrested Balasubramanian was a partner in pharmaceutical firm DM Pharma along with alleged kingpin Prashanth and his role in the alleged manufacturing and distribution of counterfeit medicines emerged during the probe
Bengaluru: One more accused was arrested in connection with his alleged involvement in the interstate counterfeit drug racket, police said here on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Balasubramanian, was arrested in Chennai on Tuesday, they said.
His arrest comes a day after alleged kingpin Prashanth Rajan Babu (35) was arrested at Kempegowda International Airport following his arrival from Azerbaijan. He had allegedly been absconding since the case came to light.
Balasubramanian was a partner in pharmaceutical firm DM Pharma along with Prashanth and his role in the alleged manufacturing and distribution of counterfeit medicines emerged during the probe, a senior police officer said.
He was produced before a court and remanded to seven-day SIT custody for interrogation, he said.
According to police, the investigation is focused on tracing the alleged supply chain, financial transactions and interstate distribution channels through which the counterfeit medicines were circulated.
Accused Prashanth, also currently in police custody till October 7, is being questioned over his alleged fake medicine manufacturing and distribution network.
The SIT is also examining the roles of other individuals linked to the alleged racket, police said, adding that further investigation is underway.
According to officials, on August 18, the state's Health & Family Welfare Department and the Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration raided a farmhouse near the Bidadi Toll Gate and seized suspected fake and expired medicines worth nearly Rs 5 crore.
Sharing details of the case earlier, Health Minister U T Khader had said that this network was procuring cheap bulk drugs from manufacturing hubs in Telangana and Himachal Pradesh, refilling them into new vials at the Bidadi facility, and relabelling them as premium imported brands of multinational companies, including a top brand, whose counterfeit drugs meant for patients and ICU wards.
Following this, a six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to investigate the network's supply to hospitals and clinics. During the probe, they also arrested the owner of a healthcare firm in Bengaluru in connection with the case.
Further investigation is underway.