Spurious drug manufacturing unit busted in Puducherry

In a joint raid conducted by officials from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and Drugs Control Department, Puducherry, an illegal drug manufacturing unit was busted, and empty capsules, tablets, and medicine packing materials worth around ₹99.47 lakh were seized from a godown at Mettuplayam.

The joint raid followed a disclosure made by the owner of a pharmaceutical agency in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, who was arrested in connection with the stockpiling and selling of spurious drugs in UP last month. The owner, during his interrogation, had disclosed about the procurement of drugs from a firm, Meenakshi Pharma, based in Puducherry.

According to sources in the department, enquiries made in the name of Meenakshi Pharma revealed that the firm was not in operation for a long time. Subsequently, a three-member team from CDSCO’s Chennai office was deputed to Puducherry to conduct a detailed investigation. A joint team was formed to conduct raids at Mettupalayam Industrial Estate, the source said.

The seizure of materials revealed that the capsules were found to be sold by Natural Capsule Private Limited, Pichai Veeranpettai, Puducherry, and meant to be marketed by Nebulae Pharmaceuticals, Chennai. Additionally, the tablets, along with packaging materials such as aluminium foils and carton boxes, were manufactured at Fabulous Life Sciences, Villupuram. All these firms were found to be closed long ago, the source said.

“The godown at Mettupalayam has been seized, and the seized materials were handed over to the court on Tuesday. We have filed a police complaint on Wednesday to initiate criminal proceedings against the owner of the godown. We are going to widen the probe after we receive some more inputs,” said an official.