New Delhi: The Delhi Police Crime Branch has busted a gang operating in the national capital for selling fake cancer drugs. The gang members used to collect empty vials with labels of cancer drugs from hospitals, fill them up with spurious substances and sell them as anti-cancer medicines.
The gang was being operated from two flats at DLF Capital Greens in Delhi's Moti Nagar area. The gang was busted after the Crime Branch conducted a joint raid with Delhi government's drug control department officials.
According to reports, at least seven people have been arrested in the case so far. Those detained also include employees of Delhi and Gurugram hospitals.
Officials also seized at least 140 vials of fake drugs whose original market value is approximately Rs 4 crore.
The arrested accused identified as Viphil Jain (46), Suraj Shat (28), Neeraj Chauhan (38), Parvez (33), Komal Tiwari (39), Abhinay Kohli (30) and Tushar Chauhan (28) played with the lives of people by selling 'fake' drugs, police said.
"Information regarding a racket involved in manufacturing and supply of spurious cancer medicine was received after which a dedicated team was constituted," Special Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Shalini Singh said.
Simultaneous raids were conducted at four different places -- two flats in Moti Nagar, one flat in South City of Gurgaon, one flat in Yamuna Vihar of northeast Delhi and a reputed cancer hospital in Delhi.
According to reports, arrested Viphil Jain is the mastermind of this racket.
"Jain had taken two EWS Flats in Moti Nagar and using the same flat to refill the spurious cancer medicine (vials). Suraj Shat was managing the refilling and packaging of these vials," the senior officer said.
Fake drugs seized in raids
During raids, 140 filled vials of spurious cancer injections of Opdyta, Keytruda, Dextrose, Fluconazole brands were seized along with three cap sealing machines, one Heat Gun Machine and 197 empty vials and other essential packaging material, she added.
Who all arrested in fake cancer drugs racket?
At the Gurgaon flat, one Neeraj Chauhan hoarded a large cache of spurious cancer injections, the Special CP said.
During raid, 137 vials of spurious cancer injections namely Keytruda, Infinzi, Tecentriq, Perjeta, Opdyta, Darzalex & Erbitux and 519 empty vials of Keytruda, Infinzi, Tecentriq, Perjeta, Opdyta, Darzalex & Phesgo and 864 empty packaging boxes of vials of above mentioned spurious cancer vials were also recovered, the officer said.
At the instance of Neeraj, his cousin brother Tushar Chauhan was also nabbed, who was indulged in the supply chain, she added.
From Yamuna Vihar, the police nabbed one Parvez, who arranged empty vials for Viphil Jain and was also involved in the supply of the refilled vials. 20 empty vials were recovered from his possession.
Two people -- Komal Tiwari and Abhinay Kohli -- working in the Cytotoxic Admixture Unit of the hospital were nabbed during the fourth raid, which was conducted at a reputed Cancer hospital in the city (name not shared by the police). They were involved in providing empty vials for Rs 5,000 each, the Special CP said.
Police said that Neeraj Chauhan, who previously worked as a manager in the Oncology Department of reputed hospitals, joined forces with Jain in 2022, leveraging his experience to provide fake chemotherapy injections at affordable rates.
"Parvez, an ex-pharmacist of a reputed Cancer Hospital, ran a pharmacy shop and supplied empty as well as filled vials to Jain. Tushar Chauhan, a laboratory technician, collaborated with Neeraj Chauhan to distribute fake medicines assigned to them by Neeraj," added the Special CP.
With inputs from PTI
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