Ghaziabad: Three held for smuggling cancer drugs; medicines worth Rs 19 lakh seized

Ghaziabad, Nov 23 (PTI) The Ghaziabad crime branch has arrested three persons allegedly involved in the theft and illicit sale of cancer drugs meant for the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) in Delhi, officials said on Sunday.

The accused, identified as Vishwas Tyagi (35) and Prince Tyagi (28) from Ghaziabad, and Akash Sharma (34) from Agra, were allegedly supplying the stolen medicines to Maharashtra and other states.

Police said the trio was also selling expired cancer drugs without maintaining mandatory temperature-controlled storage conditions.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Piyush Kumar Singh told reporters that medicines worth Rs 19 lakh and cash amounting to Rs 8.85 lakh were recovered from a car during the raid.

Police said Vishwas Tyagi, who runs a chemist shop, had earlier been arrested in a spurious drugs case registered by the Drugs Department. That case is currently under trial.

According to investigators, the gang used to erase the "Supply for CGHS" and "Not for Sale" stamps on the stolen life-saving drugs before selling them in the open market.

All three accused have been sent to jail, Singh added. PTI COR KIS ARB ARB