new Delhi: Two Gujarat businessmen who sold allegedly “fake” injections of Remdesivir last year during the second wave of COVID-19 worth Rs 1.04 crore The properties have been attached under the Anti-Money Laundering Act. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) gave this information on Tuesday.
The directorate said that Kaushal Mahendrabhai Vora and Puneet Gunwantlal Shah made spurious injections of the anti-viral drug at a manufacturing unit in Surat and sold them in Madhya Pradesh and some other states. The ED said in a statement, “The accused sold fake Remdesivir injections to various vendors who then sold them to needy retail customers at exorbitant prices.” In some cases, these injections were sold directly to retail customers who were identified by the accused through social media platforms during the peak of the second wave of COVID-19.
In addition, counterfeit Remdesivir injections were also sold to vendors supplying prescription drugs and hospitals treating coronavirus, the agency said. An Enforcement Directorate investigation has revealed that fake Remdesivir injections were procured in large numbers at a hospital in Madhya Pradesh and given to various patients at “exorbitant prices”.
“As per preliminary estimates, such spurious Remdesivir injections were sold in Madhya Pradesh and some other states. The accused made huge profit by committing the crime of endangering human life during the peak of second wave of COVID-19. The Directorate investigated two separate FIRs registered by Morbi Police, Gujarat and Indore Police, Madhya Pradesh in connection with the sale of counterfeit Remdesivir injections, after which it was found that their “supply chain” originated from Surat. There is a manufacturing center. He said, “It was found that the accused made fake Remdesivir injections resembling a reputed brand. These spurious injections were made by mixing glucose and salt and housed in sticker vials like the branded original injections.”
“During the raids conducted at the farmhouse-cum-manufacturing unit located in Surat, Morbi Police found similar sized and identical looking empty bottles, huge quantity of glucose, salt, packing material, fake stickers and other raw material in huge quantity,” the directorate said. confiscated.”
The agency issued a provisional attachment under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach Rs 1.04 crore in cash and deposits of the accused. He told that Rs 89.20 lakh in cash was found from Vora, the “mastermind” of the entire conspiracy to manufacture fake Remdesivir injection and Rs 11.50 lakh in cash and Rs 3.92 lakh deposited in the bank from the possession of Shah, a co-conspirator in the production and supply of fake injections. Found Rs.