Delhi Police Crime Branch has busted a major spurious drug racket running out of a factory in Loni’s Mirpur village in Ghaziabad, which was allegedly churning out fake prescription skin creams and cosmetic ointments on a large scale. The raid was conducted on 14 December 2025, following technical surveillance and ground intelligence developed by the Cyber Cell of the Crime Branch.
Officials said the unit was illegally manufacturing counterfeit versions of Schedule‑H medicated creams including Betnovate‑C, Clop‑G and Skinshine, all of which are normally sold only on prescription and widely used for skin infections, allergies and sports injuries. Initial assessment has pegged the value of seized fake medicines and raw material at around ₹2.3 crore.
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Two Held, Factory Running for Years
Police have arrested Gaurav Bhagat, a resident of Ghaziabad, and Shree Ram alias Vishal Gupta from northeast Delhi’s Sabhapur, for allegedly running and supplying from the illegal unit. Investigators suspect the racket has been active since at least 2019, with products pushed into wholesale and retail markets through channels in Sadar Bazar and other pharma hubs in Delhi‑NCR.
A team led by ACP Anil Sharma first zeroed in on counterfeit ointment stock during a raid at Teliwara in Sadar Bazar, one of Delhi’s biggest wholesale pharmaceutical and cosmetics markets, after which further probes led them to the Ghaziabad factory.
12,000+ Tubes, 350 Kg Raw Ointment Seized
At the Mirpur Hindu village unit in Loni, officers found a complete underground manufacturing setup, including mixing tanks, filling and sealing machines, and packing lines. The seizure included around 1,200 tubes of spurious Betnovate‑C, over 2,700 tubes of fake Clop‑G, more than 3,700 tubes of Skinshine, nearly 22,000 empty ready‑to‑fill Clop‑G tubes, and over 350 kg of semi‑prepared ointment, along with bulk chemicals and packaging material.
Drug inspectors from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, along with authorised representatives of pharmaceutical companies, inspected samples on the spot and confirmed the products were counterfeit and not manufactured by the original licence holders. Police also said the unit had no valid licence to manufacture, store or sell any pharmaceutical products, making the entire operation illegal under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
Public Health Risk and Wider Network Probe
Officers warned that the circulation of such steroid‑based counterfeit creams poses a serious health threat, as patients unknowingly applying these products could suffer skin thinning, infections, allergic reactions or steroid‑related complications. Investigators are now tracing downstream wholesalers and retailers who picked up supplies from the racket, and are probing whether they knew the stock was fake.
The case has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, and further arrests are likely as the wider supply chain and any financial backers are identified.
