In a major international crackdown, law enforcement authorities have sealed a counterfeit drug manufacturing facility operating in Puducherry and arrested its owner, Prabhakaran.
The raid led to the recovery of three lakh counterfeit Pregabalin-150 tablets, exposing an extensive network designed to distribute dangerous lookalike pharmaceuticals across both domestic and global markets.
The investigation began last month after police successfully intercepted a boat attempting to smuggle a highly suspicious shipment of these tablets over to Sri Lanka. The confiscated packaging bore the name of Chennai-based distributor ABA Drugs and Formulations. Upon being alerted to the cargo, the company’s proprietor, Rajkumar, inspected the seized goods and contacted the listed manufacturer, Digital Vision, who confirmed that the entire batch was completely counterfeit.
Following this critical confirmation, Rajkumar immediately alerted the appropriate regulatory and law enforcement authorities to launch a formal probe.
Tracing the source
Investigators and drug control officers worked backward to trace the origins of the fraudulent shipment, pointing their radar at a facility named Medinoc Health Care in Puducherry. The operation was subsequently linked to a Chennai-based trader identified as Vallimuthu.
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To gather concrete, undeniable proof of the illicit manufacturing, Rajkumar set up a sting operation by placing a counterfeit order worth 5.4 lakh rupees through a middleman on July 6th. When the secret delivery arrived, forensic and visual inspections confirmed that the newly manufactured tablets perfectly matched the fake batch previously seized from the smuggling boat.
Armed with this fresh evidence, Rajkumar filed a formal complaint that prompted an immediate late-night raid by police and drug control officials.
Major facility shuttered
During the targeted raid on the Medinoc Health Care premises, joint teams seized three lakh counterfeit pills alongside a massive hoard of fake packaging materials. The illicit production unit was immediately shut down and sealed by the state regulators, and the owner, Prabhakaran, was placed under arrest.
Police investigators revealed that the facility had been replicating reputable pharmaceutical brands for months, using a warehouse in Villupuram to store the fake prescription pills before sending them out for global distribution.
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While the bust highlights serious, ongoing vulnerabilities in the pharmaceutical supply chain, the primary suspect remains in judicial remand as joint police teams continue their investigation to completely dismantle the remaining distribution network.
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