DEHRADUN: In a significant breakthrough, the Uttarakhand Polices Special Task Force (STF) has arrested the alleged mastermind behind a multi-crore fake drug manufacturing racket that has been supplying spurious life-saving medicines across Uttarakhand and other parts of India for the past four years. The arrest of Devi Dayal Gupta, owner of Dr Mittal Laboratories Pvt Ltd, based in Ashok Vihar, North West Delhi, marks a major step in dismantling the alleged organised crime syndicate. The crackdown comes after the State Director General of Police Deepam Seth directed the STF to identify and take stringent action against gangs involved in the manufacturing and sale of counterfeit drugs, which pose a severe threat to public health. Following the DGPs directive, SSP STF Navneet Singh Bhullar had instructed his teams to prepare the complete profile of these fake drug manufacturers and ensure strict action against them. Speaking to TNIE , SSP STF Navneet Singh Bhullar said, On June 1, the STF had previously arrested one Santosh Kumar from Dehradun with a large quantity of fake outer boxes, labels, and QR codes of prominent pharmaceutical companies, including GLENMARK (Telma AM, Telma 40), Ipca Laboratories Ltd (ZERO DOL SP), Intas Pharma Ltd (Gabapin NT), ALKEM Health Science (PAN 40, PAN L), Dr REDDY LABORATORIES (VOVERAN SR 100), and Cadila Pharmaceutical (CODECTUSS TR Cough Syrup). In the ongoing investigation, the STF had already arrested three individuals Santosh Kumar, Naveen Bansal, and Aditya Kala. However, the search for the factory owner, who had been absconding since the initial arrests, became a significant challenge for the STF team. Interrogation of the previously arrested accused Naveen Bansal revealed that he was allegedly getting the fake medicines prepared at Dr Mittal Laboratories Pvt Ltd and other factories located in the Sahaspur area. These counterfeit drugs were then allegedly transported to various locations, including Haryana and Bhiwadi in Rajasthan. Leveraging manual policing and intensive efforts, the STF team successfully arrested Devi Dayal Gupta, the owner of the company, from Dehradun on Friday. Gupta, a resident of B-3/70, Ashok Vihar Phase-2, North West Delhi, is allegedly the kingpin of the organised syndicate led by the previously arrested mastermind Naveen Bansal and was responsible for manufacturing and supplying the counterfeit drugs. During the course of the investigation, it was discovered that Devi Dayal Guptas Dr Mittal Laboratories Pvt Ltd had allegedly manufactured and supplied a staggering quantity of counterfeit drugs to Naveen Bansal. SSP Bhullar said, Between 2021 and the present, the factory produced approximately 1.423 crore tablets and 2 lakh capsules. These included various popular medications such as 50.86 lakh Pantoprazole tablets, 15 lakh Diclocin SP tablets, 7.70 lakh Levocetirizine tablets, 33.93 lakh Prochlorperazine tablets, 25.54 lakh Amlodipine tablets, 6.05 lakh Aceclofenac and Paracetamol tablets, and 4.50 lakh Telmisartan tablets.
