Officials of the Drugs Control Administration, Visakhapatnam, seized COVID-19 drugs from a man, who was reportedly indulging in black marketing of the drugs at Maddilapalem in the city.
K. Rajitha, Assistant Director (AD), DCA, said one Santosh Kumar was involved in the black marketing of COVID-19 drugs. A decoy operation was conducted based on a tip off.
The DCA officials contacted the accused over phone and sought Amphotericin B and Remdesivir injections. Kumar offered Remdesivir injections at ₹7,000 per vial. When he came to hand over the the injections, he was caught by the Drugs Inspectors and Vigilance and Enforcement officials.
The officials went to the house of Kumar, where they found stocks of 11 different drugs used to treat symptoms of COVID-19, including antibiotics like Azithromycin and Doxycycline.
Drugs Inspector P. Kalyani seized six Remdesivir injections along with the other drugs from the possession of Kumar, under cover of panchanama, for violation of Section 18(c) of Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, at Pithapuram Colony, Maddilapalem, on June 7.
Drugs Inspectors V. Abhipriya and R. Lalitha, along with Vigilance and Enforcement Inspector, S. Laxmoji were involved in the operation and seizure, according to a statement issued by the AD, DCA, here on June 8.
