7 held for supplying spurious ‘life-saving’ cancer medicines

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 12

The Delhi Police crime branch team made a significant breakthrough on Tuesday, arresting seven persons, including two employees of a prestigious cancer hospital here, in connection with the manufacturing and distribution of counterfeit cancer medications.

Refilled vials with cheap anti-fungal drug

• The mastermind behind this heinous scheme, Viphil Jain (46), hails from Bagpat in Uttar Pradesh
• Jain’s modus operandi involved procuring empty vials and refilling these with a cheap anti-fungal drug, passing them off as expensive cancer medications
• Under his direction, Suraj Shat (28), Neeraj Chauhan (38) and others played instrumental roles in the production and distribution of these counterfeit drugs

Shalini Singh, Special Commissioner of Police (Crime), said, “The mastermind behind this heinous scheme, Viphil Jain (46), who hails from Bagpat in Uttar Pradesh, has a history of exploiting vulnerabilities in the healthcare system for illicit gains.”

She elaborated that Jain’s modus operandi involved procuring empty vials and refilling these with a cheap anti-fungal drug, passing them off as expensive cancer medications. Under his direction, Suraj Shat (28), Neeraj Chauhan (38) and others played an instrumental role in the production and distribution of these counterfeit drugs, according to the police.

The crime branch conducted raids at multiple locations, uncovering shocking evidence of the scale of this operation. Singh disclosed, “In a prime location in DLF Capital Greens, Moti Nagar, we seized 140 filled vials of spurious cancer injections, Rs 50,000 and $1,000, three cap sealing machines, heat gun machine and 197 empty vials. Jain had taken two EWS flats in the society to conduct his illegal business.”

Additional raids in Gurugram and Yamuna Vihar yielded more evidence, including a cache of filled and empty vials, packaging material and substantial amounts of cash, the police added.

The spurious cancer injections included brands such as Opdyta, Keytruda, Dextrose, Fluconazole, Infinzi, Tecentriq, Perjeta, Darzalex and Erbitux.

Neeraj Chauhan, a BA graduate with a medical background, utilised his expertise to lend credibility to the operation, exploiting his position in reputed hospitals to facilitate the distribution of counterfeit medications, they said.

Parvez (33), a former pharmacist, and his accomplices Komal Tiwari (39) and Abhinay Kohli (30), employed in the cytotoxic admixture unit of a prominent cancer hospital, played crucial roles in the supply chain, providing empty vials and packaging material to the racketeers.

Another accused, Tushar Chauhan (28), worked as a laboratory technician and collaborated with Neeraj Chauhan to supply fake medicine in Bhagirath Place, with customers assigned to him by Neeraj.

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