UP FSDA Busts Fake Billing, Cross-Billing Racket Used to Circulate Counterfeit Medicines, 5 Booked
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) has uncovered an organised counterfeit medicine racket allegedly operating through fake billing, cross-billing and fictitious financial transactions to introduce spurious medicines into the legitimate pharmaceutical supply chain. As part of its statewide drive against counterfeit drugs, the department has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against five accused in Lucknow.
The FIR, lodged on July 29 at Aminabad Police Station under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), names Manish Mishra, proprietor of Mishra Associates in Aminabad; Amod Kumar Mishra, operator of Mishra Medical Agency in Bachhrawan, Rae Bareli; Sunny Kashyap, proprietor of Shri Ashok Pharmaceuticals in Aminabad; and Devendra Shukla and Rahul, who allegedly operated Bharat Pharma and MDH Pharma in Aminabad.
According to the FSDA, the accused allegedly generated fake invoices, carried out cross-billing between multiple firms without any physical movement of medicines, and fabricated paper-based financial transactions without actual bank transfers to facilitate the circulation of counterfeit medicines through the legal pharmaceutical distribution network.
During the investigation, officials found that Mishra Medical Agency, Mishra Associates, Shri Ashok Pharmaceuticals, Bharat Pharma and MDH Pharma had recorded large-scale medicine sales among themselves. However, the registered proprietors of Bharat Pharma and MDH Pharma, Amreen Ahsan and Mantasha, submitted written statements claiming they neither managed nor operated the firms. They alleged that Devendra Shukla had been running both businesses without their knowledge while keeping them unaware of the transactions being carried out in their names.
Physical verification of Bharat Pharma and MDH Pharma reportedly revealed no stock of medicines despite records showing substantial purchases from Mishra Associates and Shri Ashok Pharmaceuticals, indicating that the transactions existed only on paper.
Investigators also identified suspicious transactions involving the antibiotic Augmentin Duo 625. Records showed that Mishra Medical Agency and Mishra Associates had allegedly purchased the medicine from Lucknow-based Medi King Pharma at Rs 56.60 per strip, significantly lower than its actual landing cost of Rs 116.70. However, Medi King Pharma denied making any such sale in a written statement, strengthening the department's suspicion that forged invoices were used to circulate counterfeit medicines.
The latest FIR is the fifth major criminal case registered by the department in Lucknow this month under its campaign against counterfeit medicines and interstate drug syndicates. Earlier actions included the seizure of counterfeit medicines worth around Rs 1.6 lakh near Alambagh Metro Station on July 6, recovery of fake allopathic medicines valued at Rs 21 lakh from an illegal warehouse in Aminabad on July 19, action against illegal storage and transportation of counterfeit medicines without valid licences, and multiple FIRs against pharmaceutical distributors allegedly involved in organised fake billing operations.
The department has also suspended operations and sealed nine wholesale pharmaceutical establishments in Aminabad pending examination of their financial records and billing documents under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. The firms include SKG Medicals, Gayatri Pharma & Surgical, Health Plus, MK Pharma, Maa Ambe Pharma, RN Pharma, Sunlight Pharma, Sonal Pharma and Supervision Pharma.
According to a recent media report by The Times of India, the investigation has exposed an organised network allegedly using fake billing and forged invoices to introduce counterfeit medicines into the legal pharmaceutical supply chain, prompting multiple criminal cases and intensified enforcement across the state.
The FSDA stated that it has expanded its investigation to dismantle the interstate counterfeit drug network. Action has already been initiated against suppliers linked to Rajasthan, including Bhupendra Sharma and transporter Satendra Gurjar, who were named in earlier FIRs. The department has also raided an illegal manufacturing unit in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, allegedly producing counterfeit medicines of several leading pharmaceutical brands. Four persons—Rajendra Singh alias Arun Tunda, Vinay Bhatnagar, Gaurav Tyagi and Vinay Chandra—have been booked in connection with that case.
The Commissioner of the Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration has directed drug inspectors across all districts to maintain continuous surveillance, identify wholesale firms linked to counterfeit drug networks, initiate licence cancellation proceedings wherever required, and take stringent legal action against those involved in the manufacture, distribution and sale of spurious medicines.
