Counterfeit Drug Racket Kingpin Arrested at Bengaluru Airport
The accused identified as Prashanth Rajan Babu (35), alleged to be the kingpin in the case and has been absconding since the case came to light was allegedly hiding in Azerbaijan
Bengaluru: A key accused allegedly involved in the interstate counterfeit drug racket was arrested on Monday morning at Kempegowda International airport here, police said.
The accused identified as Prashanth Rajan Babu (35), alleged to be the kingpin in the case and has been absconding since the case came to light was allegedly hiding in Azerbaijan, they said.
"The accused was detained at Kempegowda International Airport here early this morning and taken into custody upon his arrival from Azerbaijan," a senior police officer said.
He is being questioned over his alleged fake medicine manufacturing and distribution network, he said.
A lookout notice had been issued against the key accused in connection with the case.
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 UT 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.
