Health ministry's surgical strike at Delhi market reveals dark side of medicine hub

Life-saving medicines and vaccines turn into carriers of death if misused or mishandled. And a raid led by the union health ministry at Delhi's Bhagirath Palace, a wholesale market for drugs and medical equipment, revealed a dark underbelly that puts thousands of lives at risk.

Officials seized medicines worth nearly Rs 5 crore during the "surgical strike" at the market that has about 376 chemist shops, while several traders were taken into custody.

With more than 140 drugs regulatory officers from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) along with about 50 Delhi Police personnel involved, this was one of the biggest raids of its kind.

The CDSCO is an apex body under union health ministry which functions for regulatory control over the import of drugs, approval of new drugs and clinical trials, etc.

The Delhi government too conducts raids on occasions to create deterrence among traders involved in malpractices.

UNHYGIENIC STORAGE

Experts say drugs should always be stored in cool, neat and safe places, where there is no sunlight. "However, warehouses where these drugs were kept were directly exposed to sunlight and most of the medicines were stored at room temperature, which shouldn't be the case as they lose their effectiveness," a senior drug controller officer from CDSCO told Mail Today on condition of anonymity.

"During the raid, drug inspectors found some of the vaccines were stored at more than 30 degrees Celcius against the required storage temperature of 2-8 degrees Celcius. Some of the cough syrup was found to be stored in PVC 5 litre packs. These traders purchase in huge quantities from companies and sell it to their agents without proper labeling and seals. There is no mention of composition of the drug, dosages and manufactured as well as expiry date," the officer added.

Sources say that cough syrup in such quantities and conditions is often sold to addicts. According to the sources, officials got a tip from insiders regarding black-marketing as well as sale of substandard and spurious drugs at the market.

"Illegal trade of medicines is rampant here and Bhagirath Place is a huge market," the CDSCO officer said. "So, we took the help of Delhi Police. This is for the first time that CDSCO has conducted such a major raid. During the search, it was found that nearly 80 per cent of the business done here is illegal. Most of the illegal business transaction operates without proper purchase and sale invoice, which is the root cause of substandard drugs moving across the market, as it affects the traceability of the purchaser and sale including original manufacturer, which ultimately affects public health."

The wholesale market is operating out of unhygienic and rickety premises, he added.

TRADERS FLEE

Experts says the annual turnover of each of these chemist shops could be anywhere between Rs 1 crore and Rs 50 crore. While the raid was going on, many traders left their shops unattended to escape, while some started to shut down the stores.

Dr Vikas Maurya, head of department of pulmonology at Fortis Hospitals (Shalimar Bagh), told Mail Today, "Medicine should always be stored in a proper condition, as mentioned on the package. If not kept in required conditions, drugs lose their property and do not give the desired result. In fact, it starts producing side-effects and also worsens a patient's health."

Officials informed that more than 100 suspect samples of drugs for various health complications such as diabetes, heart diseases, hypertension, as well as vaccines were collected and these will be forwarded to the Central Drugs Testing Laboratory in Kolkata for quality evaluation.

Mail Today had earlier reported about the supply of spurious Shecal medicine at Bhagirath Palace market. These bogus medicines were found to have zero per cent vitamin D content.

ALSO READ | ACB raids in Delhi after Kapil Mishra alleges Rs 300 crore medicine scam under Arvind Kejriwal government

ALSO READ | Fake drug factory busted in Indore