Panic and desperation brought about by a more ferocious second wave has resulted in a thriving blackmarket for Remdesivir, the drug used to treat COVID-19 patients. A single vial is selling for as much as ₹22,000, and people are willing to pay for it.
Since it started a special drive to crack down on the illegal sale of Remdesivir last week, Sandeep Patil, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), said the Central Crime Branch has seized 55 vials. “The police have booked six cases and 16 accused, including two medical distributors, have been arrested so far,” he said. The raids have uncovered a nexus between pharmacy staff and employees of smaller hospitals, clinics and nursing homes.
On Thursday, CCB officials uncovered two more instances of people in the healthcare sector selling Remdesivir on the black market. Seven people were booked in both cases which involved pharmacy staff working with employees of a hospital and a nursing home.
In the first case, a CCB team from the Organised Crime Wing received a tip-off that a pharmacy at Kothanur Dinne was selling a vial for ₹22,000 each. Head constable Shantharaju visited Parvathy Medical Store under the guise of a prospective customer in need of Remdesivir. “The staff said they had stock and asked him to fork out ₹22,000 per vial. Shantharaju ordered four vials before alerting his senior officials, who were waiting some distance away for confirmation so that they could raid the pharmacy,” said a senior CCB official.
During the raid, the team arrested three employees, Prakash Choudhary, 24, Vinod Choudhary, 25 and Abhishek M, 30. They had allegedly sourced the vials from an affiliated clinic adjacent to the pharmacy, Parvathy Clinic, though a contact identified as Rohini,” the official added.
“The drugs seized had a ‘not for sale’ sticker affixed on the boxes, indicating that they were strictly for hospital and institutional set up use only,” said CCB official Basavaraj A. Teli, from the Organized Crime Wing. Efforts are on to locate Rohini, a staffer at the clinic. The accused were booked under the Drug Control Act and taken into custody.
In another incident, a CCB team arrested two youth, Shivashakthi (24) and Ramdas (25), in front of the main gate at St John’s Hospital where they were allegedly trying to sell Remdesivir vials. The duo told the police that they had sourced the drugs from their contact, a nurse at Spurthy Hospital on Chocolate Factory Road.
She allegedly told the duo to sell the medicine for ₹15,000 per vial and promised to share the profits equally with them. “Efforts are on to track down the nurse, Syeda Kousar,” said the police.
The police plan to intensify the raids in the coming days and have alerted hospitals and clinics to monitor their supply of the drug.
