ED Searches Five Sites, Freezes ₹9 Lakh in Bengaluru Fake Drug Probe
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has conducted search and seizure operations at five premises and frozen a bank account holding approximately ₹9 lakh in connection with a counterfeit medicines racket and money-laundering investigation originating in Tavarekere, Bengaluru.
The searches were carried out under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The financial probe stems from an FIR registered at the Tavarekere police station on August 18, 2026, following a joint raid by the Drug Controlling Authority and local police personnel at a residential property in C.K. Tandya village.
During the August 18 raid, the accused were allegedly discovered storing pharmaceutical drugs without valid licences, permits, or authorisations, and actively replacing labels on the stored medicines. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Vamsi Krishna, Joint Commissioner (West), Bengaluru, was assigned to probe the case. Police registered the FIR under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Section 63 of the Copyright Act, 1957, which are scheduled offences under the PMLA, prompting the ED to file an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR).
According to the ED, an accused man identified as R. Prashanth arranged a farmhouse near Bidadi to manufacture, repackage, and relabel medicines without the required licences or permits. Cheap bulk pharmaceutical formulations sourced from manufacturing centres in various states were allegedly repackaged into new vials and falsely labelled as expensive Pfizer antibiotics, including Zavicefta and Emblaveo. Although the vials reportedly contained generic medicines, they were packaged under the Pfizer brand name.
The ED found that the counterfeit drugs were distributed through M/s DM Pharmaceuticals and supplied to M/s Krupa Healthcare. Krupa Healthcare then supplied the vials to other pharmaceutical entities and hospitals, allegedly mixing the counterfeit products with genuine medicines to evade detection.
During the operations, the central agency froze bank accounts belonging to Veeresh Kumar containing approximately ₹9 lakh. Officials also seized digital devices, records, and other incriminating documents belonging to various individuals. The ED stated that further investigation is underway to determine the extent of the money-laundering network and trace the proceeds of crime.
