The Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested the alleged kingpin of a counterfeit medicine manufacturing and distribution network from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. The arrest of 32-year-old Akdas Siddiqui has taken the total number of accused held in the case to 11. Police said a non-bailable warrant had been issued against Siddiqui, who had allegedly remained absconding for several months.
Counterfeit Tablets Recovered from Delhi Market
The investigation began on March 11 with the arrest of Nikhil Arora in Shahdara. Police recovered nearly 1.20 lakh suspected counterfeit tablets bearing the names of several leading pharmaceutical brands from his shop in Bhagirath Palace.
Information gathered during the investigation allegedly revealed an organised network involved in manufacturing, packaging and distributing counterfeit medicines across Delhi-NCR and Uttar Pradesh.
The probe subsequently led to the arrest of several other accused, including Shivam Tyagi, Mayank Agarwal, Mohit Sharma, Shah Rukh and Rahul. Police suspect that Shivam, Mayank and Mohit worked as suppliers and distributed the medicines to different locations.
Illegal Manufacturing Unit Found in Muzaffarnagar
Investigators later traced an alleged illegal medicine manufacturing unit in Muzaffarnagar. During a raid, police seized around 2,000 kilograms of raw material, packaging machines, pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment and other items allegedly used to produce counterfeit medicines.
Police said the unit was equipped to imitate the packaging of established pharmaceutical brands, allowing the suspected fake medicines to be presented and sold as genuine products. Siddiqui, identified as the owner of the unit, allegedly escaped before he could be arrested during the raid.
According to police, Siddiqui repeatedly changed his location to evade arrest. After a court issued a non-bailable warrant, investigators intensified surveillance and used technical information to trace him to Muzaffarnagar.
Supply Chain and Financial Links Under Investigation
Siddiqui is being questioned about the procurement of raw material, financial operations, distribution channels and other people allegedly associated with the network.
Police suspect that the syndicate copied the branding and packaging of established drug manufacturers before circulating counterfeit medicines in the market. Investigators are working to identify the areas where the products were supplied and determine the financial scale of the alleged operation.
Samples of the seized medicines and raw materials have been sent for forensic and laboratory examination to establish their chemical composition. Officials are also collecting information from pharmaceutical companies about their trademarks, packaging designs and brand identifiers.
Police said the investigation remains underway and further arrests may follow based on the interrogation of the accused and analysis of seized documents and digital evidence.
