New Delhi: Delhi Police has busted a racket selling spurious anti-cancer drugs and arrested six men who targeted patients through social media by offering costly medicines at discounted rates, an official said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Neeraj Kumar (23), Anil Kumar (30), Dhanesh Sharma (23), Dheeraj Kumar, Rohit Bhatti (24) and Jyoti Grover (52), targeted cancer patients through social media platforms and online groups, DCP (Crime) Vikram Singh said.
They lured the patients by offering expensive drugs such as Opdivo, Keytruda, Erbitux and Lenvima at discounted rates, which they sold without any valid authorisation, the DCP said.
During interrogation, the accused revealed that they procured the drugs at low costs from unregulated sources and sold them without any prescription or documentation. “These drugs were sold at prices far below their market rates, often between Rs 50,000 and Rs 70,000, while the genuine versions cost upwards of Rs 1.5 lakh.
“The accused admitted that they sourced the medicines through illicit suppliers and sold them using personal contacts they built through social media groups frequented by patients in distress,” the officer said. Police have also seized mobile phones from the possession of the accused, which contained messages and transaction details, the officer said.
Based on specific inputs, police carried out raids at Laxmi Nagar, Budh Vihar and Bhagirath Palace in Chandni Chowk, leading to the seizure of a large quantity of counterfeit and unregistered drugs, the officer said. Police arrested Neeraj Kumar and Anil Kumjar, partners in a firm named Onco Life Care Pharma, from Laxmi Nagar, and seized five spurious Opdivo injections from their office, the DCP said.
Drug inspectors confirmed that the injections were counterfeit and lacked importer details, the officer said. Dhanesh Sharma and Dheeraj Kumar were arrested from Budh Vihar, where police seized multiple boxes of capsules that were not unauthorised for sale in India, the DCP said.
At Chandni Chowk, police arrested Rohit Bhatti and Jyoti Grover with a large stock of counterfeit drugs, including Xolair, Venclyxto, Hemlibra, Dupixent, Opdyta, and Keytruda.
Naveen Arya, a shop owner, is believed to be the kingpin of the racket who previously served a jail term for a similar offence, the DCP said. Police are trying to trace the victims who may have been administered the counterfeit drugs, he added.
