Yet another racket of spurious drugs was busted in the state on Thursday. Today, the West Bengal Directorate of Drug Control (WBDDC) and police during a joint operation seized huge quantities of fake medicines using names of leading brands from a manufacturing unit at Kamarthuba Talikhla under the Habra Municipality.

Earlier in December and February, drugs suspected to be spurious had been seized from Kolkata and Amta in Howrah respectively.

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According to the sources in the WBDDC, fake life-saving medicines were being manufactured in the factory at Kamarthuba Talikhola using brand names of big companies.

Acting on a tip off, the state drug control officials along with police from Habra police station raided the factory unit today and found huge number of boxes containing the fake medicines lying there.

The officials seized documents from the spot and the owner of the unit was also arrested.

A large quantity of anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, and other drugs suspected to be spurious had been seized from Kolkata. The total market value of the drugs seized is estimated at approximately Rs 6.60 crore.

The seizure followed a joint investigation conducted by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), East Zone, and the WBDDC, at a wholesale premises in Kolkata. The raid was carried out at M/s Care and Cure For You in Kolkata, according to the release issued by the health ministry on 31 December in 2024.

“The drugs, labelled as being manufactured in various countries including Ireland, Turkey, USA, and Bangladesh, were found without any supporting documents to prove their legitimate importation into India. In the absence of such documentation, these drugs are deemed to be spurious. The investigating team also discovered several empty packing materials, further raising concerns over the authenticity of the seized products,’’ the release said.

In February, the WBDDC officials, based on a complaint from a pharma giant, had conducted searches at the premises of medicine wholesaler in Amta and seized fake medicines worth Rs 17 lakh from the spot.

They were shocked to find that fake medicines of more than Rs 1 crore had already been distributed across the state.

With the seizure of the medicines, the retailers and wholesalers had sounded an alarm as a bulk of the items was copies of some of the market-leading brands.

The fake medicine manufacturers even copied the QR code, which actually differentiates the authentic medicine from the spurious ones.