Cuttack: The Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Crime Branch Wednesday arrested three persons in connection with alleged procurement and stocking of spurious Covid-19 drugs and in turn distributing those in different parts of the state, a source said.
According to an STF official, the team arrested the director including two staffers of M/s Medilloyd Medicament Private Limited for their involvement in the illegal trade of spurious drugs. The arrested were produced in a court and more than Rs 50 lakh deposited in their bank accounts has been seized.
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The firm located at Kanika Chhak in the city was raided June 11 by a team of Drugs Inspectors. The available stock of around 17,400 tablets was seized, of which 400 tablets were sent for testing.
Later, it was ascertained in the testing that the drugs were spurious. Following the huge seizure, several chemist counters were raided across the state to find out the root of the illegal trade. Further investigation into the case is still underway, the official informed.
Notably, huge stock of spurious Favipiravir — a prescribed drug for Covid-19 treatment — was recently seized from a chemist in Cuttack.
PNN
