Kolkata: The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) seized spurious medicines worth Rs 6.6 crore — the largest seizure from the city in 2024 — from a wholesaler's warehouse in south Kolkata. The medicines, marked as imported from countries like Bangladesh, Turkey, USA, and Ireland are used in the treatment of cancer and diabetes. A bulk of these medicines were put up for sale by the wholesaler through an online trading platform.
While they started searches on Dec 17, the wholesaler moved the Calcutta High Court.New Year SpecialUnbelievable! 2025's most powerful zodiac predictions are here50+ Happy New Year 2025 Wishes & Quotes to share joy and cheerNumerology 1-9: What the numbers hold for us next yearWhen asked about the documents related to the import, they failed to produce anything. "The owner of the company, a woman, was arrested on Monday and was produced at the Alipore Court. She was sent to 14 days' judicial custody.
According to CDSCO sources, many of the medicines seized during the searches are used in the treatment of cancer. "We are not sure about the origin of these medicines as the investigations are still underway. However, many medicines are marked as made in countries like Bangladesh, Turkey, USA, and Ireland," said an official with the CDSCO.
The central agency terms a medicine as spurious if there is no procurement document for the same and it is not traceable to its manufacturer. "The medicines will go through a series of tests to ascertain their actual composition. However, we could not get any procurement document from the wholesaler," the official said.
Based on a specific complaint, the central agency started keeping an eye on the Lake Road, Kolkata-based company. Officials came across its postings on an online trading platform where the wholesaler sold the medicines at less than half price. "The seizure is not huge in terms of quantity, but the value of the seizure is the largest in the past one and a half years," the official said, declining to disclose the generic names of these medicines. In July 2024, another racket of spurious medicines in Kolkata was busted by the CDSCO.
Medicine retailers in Kolkata pointed to a threat to the life of consumers. "This is a very alarming situation, and we will start a drive against spurious medicines in a month. Such spurious drugs have started entering the market after drug stores entered a competition to offer discounts," said Prithvi Bose, general secretary of the Bengal Chemists and Druggists Association.
"A retailer can avail a maximum of 20% discount and a wholesaler gets a 10% discount from a manufacturer. We often find retailers offering more than a 30% discount on medicines. This unhealthy discount war opens doors for spurious medicines," said Somnath Ghosh of Metro Pharma.