BENGALURU, September 29: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing a multi-state counterfeit medicine racket has arrested R Prashanth Babu, an alleged key accused, at Kempegowda International Airport after he arrived in Bengaluru from Sharjah. Police had issued a lookout notice as investigators searched for him in connection with the case.
The arrest follows an August 18 raid at an unlicensed facility near Bidadi in Bengaluru South, where authorities seized suspected counterfeit and expired medicines, injection-filling equipment, packaging material and forged labels. The total value of the seized material was estimated at around ₹5.05 crore.
Investigators allege that the facility was being used to procure low-cost medicines and transfer them into new vials before relabelling them as expensive life-saving pharmaceutical products. Officials also found counterfeit labels carrying QR and scanning codes that reportedly did not function when checked.
Among the seized products were thousands of injectable vials, including 5,640 vials labelled as Cefiavigent 2.5, valued at more than ₹3.38 crore, along with other suspected counterfeit medicines and expired stock. Samples have been sent to government laboratories for testing of composition, sterility and potency.
Police suspect the network may have supplied counterfeit medicines to more than 90 hospitals and clinics in Bengaluru. Investigators are examining the alleged distribution chain and questioning other accused persons arrested during the investigation.
The Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration (FSDA) has also taken regulatory action as the investigation expanded. Authorities have cancelled 16 pharmaceutical licences and suspended eight others, including the licence of a Pfizer depot, in connection with alleged supply or sale of spurious products. The affected companies and the precise extent of their involvement remain subject to the ongoing investigation.
According to investigators, the suspect had reportedly travelled to Azerbaijan after the racket was uncovered and was later in Sharjah before returning to Bengaluru. His arrest is expected to help investigators trace the alleged procurement, repackaging and distribution network.
The SIT is continuing its investigation into the suspected counterfeit-drug supply chain, including the source of the medicines, the facilities allegedly used for repackaging and the network through which the products may have reached medical establishments.
