Agra pharma firm owner nabbed for stocking counterfeit drugs

Lucknow, Aug 27 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has arrested the owner of a pharmaceutical agency in Agra for allegedly stockpiling and selling counterfeit medicines and attempting to bribe officials with Rs 1 crore in cash, police said on Wednesday.

Himanshu Agrawal, owner of Hey Maa Medico Agency, was arrested on August 24 from a parking stand in Kotwali Police Station limits, they said.

A joint operation by the STF and the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) led to the seizure of counterfeit drugs from multiple companies, including Sun Pharma's Rosuvas and Sanofi India's Allegra, police said in a statement.

Raids conducted between August 23 and 26 resulted in the recovery of 76,370 strips of medicines valued at Rs 2.92 crore, Rs 1 crore in cash (in Rs 500 denomination bundles), a laptop, and mobile phones, they said.

Police also seized a tempo loaded with fake medicines.

The investigation began after police received a tip-off about counterfeit drugs being stored and sold on an interstate scale in Agra.

Medicine company representatives confirmed that the seized medicines were counterfeit, police said.

During questioning, Agrawal allegedly offered a Rs 1 crore bribe to officers to destroy evidence and implicate other traders instead, police, adding, he was immediately arrested.

Agrawal, who runs three other medical agencies and has faced tax and customs probes in the past, admitted to sourcing fake medicines from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, police said.

He has been booked in multiple cases under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, and the Prevention of Corruption Act. PTI KIS VN VN