Guntur Urban Police cracked a racket involving medical representatives and wholesale drug dealers who were selling Remdesivir in the black market, here on Wednesday.
The State government had mandated that Remdesivir can be sold only at authorised hospitals, and had banned over-the-counter sales.
However, some individuals and firms, hoping to exploit the demand for the drug, began to hoard it and sell it in the black market.
“Following reports of rampant black marketing of the injection vials, the police began an investigation. Kothapet SHO Rajasekhara Reddy led a decoy operation, in which the police traced the chain of black marketers. A sting operation was conducted and the police managed to strike a deal with Ankamma Rao for getting six vials for ₹2.28 lakh. After Ankamma Rao was taken into custody, he revealed details about his operation. Police later arrested Ratna Raju, who confessed that he bought the injections from Nune Gurnadham for ₹26,000 a piece, and the latter admitted that he got it from a pharmacy shop at Guntur Kidney Care Centre, in which a sales personnel Krishnaveni was selling each injection for ₹20.000 a piece,” Mr. Ammireddy said.
The SP warned that stringent action would be taken against anyone resorting to black marketing of Remdesivir.
