Karnataka forms SIT to investigate Bengaluru counterfeit drug racket

Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Minister UT Khader has announced the formation of a six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate a major counterfeit drug racket in Bengaluru. The crackdown follows a raid on August 18 at a farmhouse near the Bidadi Toll Gate, where authorities seized suspected expired and fake medicines valued at approximately ₹5 crore.

The syndicate allegedly operated by procuring cheap bulk formulations from manufacturing hubs in Telangana and Himachal Pradesh. These were then refilled into new vials at the Bidadi facility and fraudulently relabelled as premium imported products from multinational pharmaceutical corporations. The counterfeit supplies, which included cancer drugs and critical-care injections, were reportedly distributed to nearly 90 hospitals and clinics across Bengaluru.

The SIT, led by a senior IPS officer, includes members from the Food Safety and Drug Administration and the Commercial Taxes Department to conduct an inter-state investigation.