In an atrocious bust, Delhi authorities have unearthed a criminal operation that raises serious concerns about patient safety. The racket, operated out of rented apartments in West Delhi’s Moti Nagar, preyed on the innocence and desperation of cancer patients.
The bust presented itself with a criminal operation of manufacturing and selling of fake life saving drugs, and peddling it in Delhi and nearby states as a cheaper version of the expensive cancer medication.
The scheme involved a network of 7 individuals which also includes employees from Delhi and Gurgaon-based hospitals. The modus operandi was as disturbing as it was clever. The accused obtained empty vials with complete legitimate looking labels and identification, from their sources within hospitals. These vials were originally used to hold cancer curing drugs like Nivilumab, Pembrolizumab, and Fluconazole.
After this they used to fill these empty vials with “innocuous substances” as per Delhi government’s drug control department. What exactly were these substances still under investigation, but the potential consequences for unsuspecting cancer patients could have been devastating.
These fake drugs were then repackaged with original labels, creating an almost perfect replica of the authentic medication. These counterfeit drugs were then allegedly sold to “unscrupulous dealers” at a fraction of the cost of the genuine products. Officials estimated that confiscated medications could have easily fetched more than Rs 3.50 lakh on the black market.
A tip off to Delhi Police Crime Branch has led to the bust of this racket for which raids on 4 locations were conducted simultaneously on Tuesday. These raids not only made the arrest of the culprits involved in the scheme but also will put a significant haul on the counterfeit drugs. More than 140 vials of these fake medicines along with machines, packaging materials, and printed literature used in the operation were seized.
The mastermind behind the racket was Viphil Jain (46), who rented two “Economical Weaker Section”(EWS) flats in DLF Capital Greens which houses the whole operation. These flats are a government initiative to provide affordable housing to low-income families. Another accused is Surat Shat(28), who was responsible for refilling and repackaging of the stolen vials.
Neeraj Chauha (38), formerly worked as a manager in Oncology, department of hospitals in Delhi and Gurgaon. He was arrested at his residence where he was found to stockpiling the fake cancer medications and vials. Tushar Chauhan (28), who is also Neeraj’s cousin but also a technician by profession,allegedly worked with Neeraj to supply the fake drugs at Bhagirath Palace, a wholesale market in Delhi. Parvez,(33),and Komal Tiwari (39) both were responsible for obtaining empty vials and also participated in supply of the refilled vials. They worked in the same pharmacy. Komal Tiwari has also been employed in the Cytotoxic Admixture Unit of a Delhi cancer hospital since 2013. Abhinay Kohli (30), another pharmacist working in the same unit as Komal, and also supplied filled vials to Parved for a fee of around Rs 5000 per vial.
The involvement of hospital employees in this scheme has raised a serious question about the security protocols and potential breaches within medical institutions. How these individuals managed to obtain empty vials with labels, remains under investigation.
