On Sunday, Mr. Anil Vij, Health Minister of Haryana, announced that the states Food and Drug Administration Department (FDA) successfully seized imported medicines worth more than Rs 7 lakh from a Turkey-based man who was recently arrested. The minister revealed that all of these cancer and diabetic medications were illegally smuggled into India.

According to the minister, FDA agents questioned the accused, Mr. Mohammad Ali Tarmani, and recovered the stock of pharmaceuticals, records, registrations, papers, and so on under the Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics Act. The official statement revealed that these drugs were discovered in a room in Sector 62 in Noida, where the accused was staying.

He stated that six different types of drugs were confiscated by FDA investigators following Alis confession during his police detention. The accused stated that he did not have any import NOC linked to these drugs and that all of these items were imported from Istanbul for sale through wholesalers in his contact list.

Earlier on Wednesday, Mr. Vij claimed that Haryanas FDA had caught an international ring distributing bogus cancer treatments. On April 11, 2023, the World Health Organisation raised an alert that "spurious injection `Defitelio 80 mg/ml, Batch Number 19G19A, is being marketed globally.

After the WHO alert, the Haryana FDA arrested the accused, identified as Mr. Sandeep Bhui, on April 21, 2023. He revealed that an email was sent to the original manufacturer, whose name and address were on the label.

The reply sent by the manufacturing company revealed that the product was not authentic. The email reply also revealed that injections from the same batch were also found in the United Arab Emirates and Kyrgyzstan.

(Source: https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/pharma/haryana-fda-seizes-imported-medicines-worth-over-rs-7-lakh-from-turkey-based-man/100240466 )