GREATER NOIDA: An FIR has been lodged against the owner of the fake firm Max Relief Healthcare who had been arrested by the Mumbai police in connection with the alleged manufacture of fake medicines like Favipravir and Azithromycin used in Covid treatment.
The action comes after a raid on the factory of the accused in Ecotech III where the medicines were being packaged and distributed from.
A consignment of Rs 25 lakh of fake medicines was recovered.
Officials said that the accused used to give orders to another accused Sandeep Mishra who has a valid license for manufacturing drugs but had started manufacturing spurious drugs during the pandemic as demand rose.
It has also come to fore that the accused Sudeep Mukherjee had first tied up with the owner of an Ayurvedic company and used his premises and equipment for packaging the fake drugs.
However, Sudeep later shifted to Udyog Kendra in Ecotech III after he purchased his own packaging material and equipment.
“Mishra owns his own factory in Meerut’s Kharsoda from where he had been manufacturing medicines.
He has a license from the drug department to do so.
However, the accused saw an opportunity in the pandemic and as the demand for medicines used in Covid treatment increased, they started manufacturing spurious drugs,” he said.
While Sudeep was getting the medicines package at the Dirghaayu Ayurvedic company in Derin village in the Ecotech III area, later he had a fallout with the firm’s owner.
“Sudeep first paid Amit for some time for using his packaging machine but later shifted the unit and started using the factory at Udyog Kendra as the packaging unit,” Kumar said.
Ecotech III police has issued a notice to the owner of the Dirghaayu Ayurvedic company to explain their association with Sudeep.
It has been confirmed that the accused Sudeep would source consignments of the fake medicines from Mishra’s factory in Meerut and they would be packaged here before in Greater Noida being distributed across Mumbai.
Cops are preparing to take the accused Sudeep on police custody remand and will soon issue a warrant for the same.
An FIR has been lodged in the case against Sudeep under sections 420 (cheating), 275 (sale of adulterated drugs), 276 (sale of drug as a different drug or preparation) and sections 18/27 of the drug and cosmetic act.
Police said while they also raided the company premises in Derin village, the accused had removed most of the evidence from there but some medicine strips etc were recovered from the Dirghaayu Ayurvedic company.