FDA busts international racket selling fake cancer-curing drug

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 10

Home, Health and Family Welfare Minister Anil Vij today said that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Department has succeeded in busting an international racket selling spurious injections to cure cancer.

He said that the case is first-of-its-kind and a total of four accused, including a foreign national, have been arrested.

Vij, who was addressing a press conference here today, said that on April 11, the WHO raised an alert that a spurious drug ‘Defitelio 80 mg/ml, Batch no. 19G19A, Exp. 06/2023’ having the manufacturer’s label as ‘Genium Sri, Piazza XX, Septiembre 2, Villa Guardia, 22079, Italy’ is being marketed internationally.

The FDA gathered information and laid a trap on April 21.

Sandeep Bhui, one of the accused, who was selling the drug to con customers of Rs 2.50 lakh was nabbed in Gurugram by Drugs Control Officer Amandeep Chauhan.

Vij stated that on April 21 an email was sent to the original manufacturer whose name and address were on the label. The manufacturing company replied that the product was not authentic and that the same batch was also identified in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kyrgyzstan.

Sandeep disclosed that he worked for Moti Ur Rahman Ansari, a resident of Okhla, Delhi. Ansari was arrested on April 28 and on information shared by him, Kanishk Raj Kumar, another accused, was held on the intervening night of May 9 and 10 from Noida.

A record regarding sale of the spurious injection was also seized from Kumar’s premises. He disclosed that Mohammad Ali Tarmani, a Turkish citizen, has been visiting his office since January. Kumar purchased the drug from Tarmani at Rs 1.75 lakh and sold it to his customers at Rs 2.50 lakh. He further disclosed that he could get Mohammad Ali Tarmani arrested who is presently staying in a hotel in Mumbai. Kumar also shared Mohammad Ali Tarmani’s mobile number.

Soon, the State Drugs Controller, Haryana, contacted Hari Balaji, DCP, Zone-1, Mumbai, and forwarded all the documents of the case. The DCP sent his team to the location of the accused and detained Tarmani in Colaba.

Amandeep Chauhan, Drugs Control Officer, Gurugram, arrested Tarmani from Mumbai with the help of the Colaba police and will send him to Gurugram after completing all the formalities.

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