Dummy Pharma Firms Under Probe for Rs 71 Crore Drug Scam in UP
Agra: A massive fake medicine racket running through dummy firms has come under the scanner in Uttar Pradesh, with the pharmaceutical department in Agra seeking detailed records from the SGST department to crack down on the nexus.
Investigations have revealed how bogus companies without real offices or warehouses were used as fronts to push counterfeit drugs across multiple districts, Amar Ujala reported.
The expose comes after an interstate syndicate was busted on 22 August, when investigators found that a single bill had been used to supply medicines through ten different firms. Many of these firms were traced back to dummy entities, raising red flags about large-scale fraud in the supply chain.
In Agra alone, five firms - He Man Medico, Bansal Medical Agency, MSV Medy Point, Taj Medico, Radhe Medical Agency — have been flagged. Authorities are examining their transactions over the past three years to determine where these firms purchased and sold medicines. To establish the full scale of operations, SGST records are being demanded to quantify the business worth crores of rupees.
Officials are now matching seized bills, stored medicines and warehouse findings to assess the extent of the black market. So far, fake drugs linked to Agra have been seized in Muzaffarnagar, Bareilly, Lucknow and Aligarh, Amar Ujala noted.
District-wise findings reveal the scale of the racket:
Agra: Medicines worth ₹71 crores were seized from five firms. The operator of He Man Medico, Himanshu Agrawal, was jailed after offering a ₹1 crore bribe.
Muzaffarnagar: Bills worth ₹3.5 crores were uncovered in dummy firms Ayush Medico and Ashutoesh Pharma, run by Tarun Giradhar under his wife’s license. He was arrested.
Lucknow: Fake medicines from Agra were traced to New Baba Pharma (run by Vicky Kumar) and Parvati Traders (run by Subhash Kumar).
Bareilly: Drugs worth ₹5.50 lakh were seized from Happy Medicos (Sunil Kumar), who attempted to transport them covertly.
Puducherry: Meenakshi Pharma, run by AK Raja, procured medicines from Agra but had no registered office. Raids continue.
Aligarh: A list of 20 medical stores and agencies suspected of procuring fake drugs from Agra is under investigation.
With the SGST department’s audit trail expected to reveal the entire network, officials believe the crackdown could expose the financial fraud and trafficking nexus in full, reports Amar Ujala.
