State forms SIT after raids at Bidadi farmhouse; seizure spans multiple brands
BENGALURU: Karnataka Health Minister U T Khader on Tuesday said an investigation into a large interstate counterfeit drug racket has resulted in the arrest of the owner of a healthcare firm and a probe into possible supplies of fake medicines and ICU injections to hospitals and clinics across the State.
State agencies carried out a raid on August 18 at a farmhouse near the Bidadi Toll Gate, seizing suspected counterfeit and expired medicines with an estimated value of close to ₹5 crore, the minister said. Following the operation, the Health & Family Welfare Department and the Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration (KF&DA) have directed that the seized consignments not be used by any hospital or nursing home in Karnataka.
- Seizure location: farmhouse near Bidadi Toll Gate (raid conducted on August 18)
- Estimated value of seized medicines: nearly ₹5 crore
- Action: statewide advisory to hospitals and nursing homes to avoid use of seized stock
Khader described the operation as one of the largest crackdowns of its kind in the country and said preliminary findings indicate a complex modus operandi with interstate links. Authorities allege that the network procured bulk drugs from manufacturing hubs in Telangana and Himachal Pradesh, refilled them into new vials at the Bidadi facility and relabelled the products as premium imported brands of multinational companies.
"We did not wait a single day. On August 19, after discussion with Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Home minister Priyank Kharge constituted a six-member SIT headed by a senior IPS officer to lead a major inter-state investigation," Khader said.
The minister said the counterfeit products were allegedly intended for distribution to patients and in ICU wards. He confirmed that the full list of spurious and counterfeit drugs has been communicated to the Union government and to state authorities across the country, and that he has sought support from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and other central regulatory agencies to map and disrupt the supply chain.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Raid date | 18 August |
| Seizure location | Farmhouse near Bidadi Toll Gate |
| Estimated value | Nearly ₹5 crore |
| Agencies involved | Health & Family Welfare Department, Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration, Commercial Taxes (as per SIT composition) |
According to Khader, a six‑member special investigation team (SIT) was constituted on August 19 and is headed by a senior IPS officer. The SIT comprises officers from the Food Safety & Drug Administration and the Commercial Taxes Department to support a wide-ranging inter‑state probe into the racket.
The minister said the alleged practice involved purchasing low-cost bulk active pharmaceutical ingredients from other states, repackaging them into vials at the Bidadi site and mislabelling them as higher‑priced imported brands—including one top brand named in official communications—before channelising them into the market.
Health officials have stressed immediate precautions for facilities across Bengaluru and Karnataka. The state government has issued instructions that every hospital and nursing home must not use medicines seized during the operation until tests and verifications are complete. Khader has also written to Union Health Minister J P Nadda seeking central assistance to trace distributors and halt any nationwide distribution of the spurious medicines.
Investigations remain ongoing. The SIT is probing whether the arrested healthcare firm owner and associated actors supplied counterfeit ICU injections and other medicines directly to hospitals and clinics. Authorities have said they will continue coordinating with central agencies and other states to map the full extent of the network and identify recipients of the seized consignments.
The development comes amid growing national concerns over fake medicines and the illicit repackaging of drugs, a problem that presents immediate risks to critically ill patients when counterfeit injectables are used in intensive care settings. Karnataka officials have framed the operation as both a public‑health intervention and a law‑enforcement priority, promising expedited laboratory analysis and legal action as the probe advances.
