New Delhi

Seventeenpeople have been arrested and hundreds of vials of life-saving drugs recovered by the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch, busting an alleged multi-state racket involving counterfeit and illegally diverted anti-cancer medicines worth around Rs 9 crore, an officer said on Thursday.

A team of the Crime Branch recovered 588 filled anti-cancer vials, six empty vials, seven empty medicine boxes, 3,021 units of other medicines and around Rs 50 lakh in cash, he said.

The recovered medicines include Darzalex, Imfinzi, Erbitux, Opdyta, Gazyva, Bavencio, Adcetris and Keytruda, which are predominantly used in the treatment of various types of cancers.

“The syndicate had supply links across Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other locations,” the police officer said. The officer said the probe began on June 22 after the team received secret inputs about the racket. Verification identified suspicious premises in East Delhi, Rohini and Mumbai.

Seven teams conducted simultaneous raids on July 11 in Delhi and Navi Mumbai in coordination with the drugs department and local police. Subsequent interrogation, disclosures and searches led to the arrests of 17 accused, the officer said.

Police said the syndicate obtained medicines through three channels -- counterfeit drugs bought from unauthorised sources, medicines allegedly misappropriated from hospitals meant for cancer patients, and government-supplied medicines diverted from government institutions and warehouses.