Over Tk 10 cr worth of fake medicines spreading in market

Farhad Chowdury: Starting from the capital Dhaka to the remote rural villages, various types of fake medicines are spreading. According to intelligence information, at least 15 gangs based in Old Dhaka and Barisal are manufacturing fake medicines of different brands and marketing them to local and foreign companies. The circle first buys Tetanus, Atropine Sulphate, Diazepam and Zation Group Atropine from Kholabazar for Tk 5 to Tk 10 and sells them as complex medicines like Hepabig, Vitamin D3, Clopiczole and Fluenzale Deport Injection, Resogama P and Human Anti D. Some of these drugs are sold up to Tk 4,500.
Law enforcement forces say that 15 cycles are marketing fake drugs worth at least Tk 10 crore annually. Last year, the police registered 15 cases of supply of fake medicines. There have been four more cases in the first five months of this year. 30 people were arrested in these cases.
Officials involved in the investigation said that DB has identified hundreds of fake medicine manufacturing factories and pharmacies in Dhaka’s Mohammadpur, Motijheel, Baridhara, Badda, Uttara and Old Dhaka. Baridhara General Hospital Pharmacy in Nardda, Naeem Pharmacy in Mitford, Shakeel Brothers, Sahara Drugs, Rajeev Enterprises, Al Aqsa Medicine, Alauddin Medicine and some other pharmacies have been found selling fake medicines. These pharmacies have been sealed. Apart from this, the Directorate of Drug Administration and DB recently raided an unregistered ‘pregnancy strip’ and ‘condom re-packing’ factory. From there, the police arrested Manik Chandra Sarkar, the owner of the fake medicine factory.
Which cycle making which drug?
The anesthetic ‘G-pethidine’ is made from the sleeping injection ‘G-diazepam’. The owner of this circle is Alamgir Khan of Pirojpur; His associate Masood Rana and sold Baridhara General Hospital pharmacist Ahsan Habib Shaon. Alamgir bought G-Diazepam as Tk 8 apiece from different pharmacies in Mitford and sold it as G-Pethidine at a price of Tk 600.
Anwar Hossain alias Wasim and Asim Ghosh are the ringleaders of supplying fake vaccines and injections to various hospitals and clinics in Dhaka. The gang marketed at least 9 drugs from different companies in India and Bangladesh under the guise of drug manufacturers in South Korea, France, Germany and Denmark. They are also provided in private clinics in Comilla, Barisal and Mymensingh. Law enforcement forces have identified several pharmacies in the three cities that keep their fake medicines. Recently DB also seized fake medicines worth crores of rupees from them.
There are five people involved in the fake antibiotic manufacturer and supplier ring. The master of the circle is Md. Abu Bakr. Shaheen works as a supplier in Dhaka. Dealer Shahidul Islam and Sirajul Islam sent him medicine from Barisal. Their associate Md. Salesman of heart and Opsonin drug company. Humayun aka Rajeev. The cycle was closed by counterfeiting and marketing 11 types of antibiotic tablets of various pharmaceuticals. They also used to counterfeit medicines of Acme Pharmaceuticals and Square Pharmaceuticals.
A circle active in creating fake Orsalines. They are marketing Orsaline by mixing salt and sugar in the packaging of SMC Enterprises. The owner of fake saline factory. Dulal But the police could not find him. Sayem Bhuiyan, manager of Saline’s foil paper manufacturing plant and operator Yadul Sardar for the cycle.
Inceptor manufactures the Pantonix drug as pantoprazole and counterfeits Square’s Seklo, Healthcare’s Sergel, Opsonin Pharma’s Phoenix, SKF Pharmaceuticals’ Losectil and Etorix, Nilfamari said. Atiya. Iqbal Hossain used to supply those fake medicines in Dhaka. Iqbal used to buy government-run Essential Drugs Company’s Azithromycin Tablets and Cetirizine Injection and Drugs International’s Fexofast from the hospital and sell them to Ranjan Barman’s pharmacy in Mitford.
Another cycle is repackaging Popular Pharmaceuticals’ tetanus injection to make Switzerland’s ‘Rahfilac 300’ injection. They make ‘Grifol’s Albumin (Human)’ in the US with ‘albumin’ made in India for kidney dialysis. The ringleader is Ashfaq Ahmed Ali alias Suman. His associates Jasim Uddin, Shubo Burman, Pavita, Biswajit, Parvez, Dipankar, Ayyub and Press Malik. Saladin.
Assistant Commissioner of Motijheel Division of DB Ershadur Rahman said that continuous operation is going on against fake medicine and vaccine supply cycle. Recently, four raids have seized counterfeit medicines worth around Tk 6 crore.
Ashraf Hossain, the spokesperson of the Department of Medicines Administration told, “The Medicines Administration is taking a strict stand against fake and expired medicines. The team is constantly monitoring the market. The campaign continues. Last year also various pharmacies were fined Tk 3 crore. The registration of seven institutions has been cancelled.