Bengaluru, 28 September

A key accused in an interstate counterfeit drug racket allegedly supplying fake medicines to major hospitals in Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka was arrested at Kempegowda International Airport on Monday, police said.

Prashanth Rajan Babu, 35, alleged to be the kingpin of the racket, had been absconding since the case came to light in August and was reportedly hiding in Azerbaijan. He was detained upon arriving from the country and subsequently taken into custody, a senior police officer said.

The accused is being questioned about the alleged manufacturing and distribution network. After a medical examination, he was produced before a city court, which remanded him to the custody of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) until 7 October. A lookout notice had been issued against him.

The racket was uncovered on 18 August, when the state Health and Family Welfare Department and the Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration raided a farmhouse near Bidadi toll gate in Bengaluru South district.

Officials seized suspected spurious and expired medicines, along with industrial machinery, worth an estimated Rs 5.05 crore.

Health Minister UT Khader had earlier said the network procured cheap bulk drugs from manufacturing hubs in Telangana and Himachal Pradesh, refilled them into new vials at the Bidadi facility and relabelled them as premium imported brands of multinational companies.

The counterfeit medicines allegedly included products intended for patients in hospitals and intensive care units.

Following the discovery, a six-member SIT was formed to investigate the network's supply chain and distribution to hospitals and clinics. Investigators have also arrested the owner of a Bengaluru-based healthcare firm.