Haryana: Crackdown on spurious medicines intensified

Following a crackdown under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, the state Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has made 16 arrests in cases involving spurious drugs. Of these, 12 arrests were made by the FDA, Gurugram. The agency has busted several inter-state gangs dealing in spurious drugs, seized counterfeit medicines worth approximately ₹70 lakh, and recovered 323 varieties of allopathic medicines.

This action was taken under the directives of Dr. Sumita Misra, Additional Chief Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department, who had ordered the strict enforcement of legal provisions against manufacturers, distributors, and sellers of spurious drugs.

Subsequently, State Drugs Controller Ripan Mehta instructed all field officers to ensure strict compliance with the law through intelligence-based surveillance, immediate inspections, intensive sampling, coordinated action, and swift legal proceedings against offenders.

Since September 2025, the FDA, Gurugram, has uncovered several organized spurious drug networks operating across various states. This has established the Gurugram unit as one of the state’s key enforcement arms against counterfeit medicines.

One of the department’s major successes occurred in April 2026, when the FDA busted a racket involving counterfeit Mounjaro injections. Acting on specific intelligence, enforcement teams raided premises in DLF Phase-IV and Sector-69, Gurugram, seizing spurious injections worth approximately ₹70 lakh. These injections are used for treating diabetes and managing weight loss. In another significant operation in July, the department dismantled an inter-state network trading in counterfeit Telma-AM tablets. The investigation traced the supply chain to an unlicensed wholesale establishment in Delhi.