VISAKHAPATNAM: In yet another decoy operation, drug control personnel have nabbed two persons from MVP Colony for selling COVID-19 medicines illegally and fleecing gullible people in the city. They were reportedly selling each vial of Remdesivir for Rs 35,000 each.
Assistant director drug control administration K Rajitha said here on Saturday said two persons involved in the black marketing of Remdesvir were caught during the decoy operation.
Drugs inspector (vigilance) Suneeta posing as a relative of a patient who is in need of Remdesivir injections made a decoy call on Friday to a phone number obtained from another patient's relative. A person named Suresh answered the call and he gave the phone number of Rakesh.
When Suneetha contacted Rakesh over phone, he told her that he has six Remdesivir injections and the price is Rs 35,000 each (Rs 2.10 lakh for 6 vials). Suneeta along with PNVVS Kalyani of the department waited for Rakesh (Visakhapatnam sales) near a hospital in MVP colony as she told Rakesh her relative was admitted in the hospital.
Rakesh along with another person G Brahmaji came to meet Suneetha to hand over the injections. The drug control personnel immediately nabbed the duo. They recovered three Covifor injections (Hetero) and three Redyx-L injections (Dr Reddy's) along with Rs 44,000 in cash from the duo. Drugs inspectors Suneetha and Kalyani lodged a complaint with the MVP police station.
The assistant director said Rakesh and Brahmaji have disclosed that they are getting the injections from a doctor. A case has been registered and investigation is on.
It may be mentioned here that drug control personnel had earlier busted the black marketing of medical oxygen cylinders last week. They conducted a decoy operation and nabbed a man identified as Jagadeesh and seized 12 oxygen cylinders from him during the raid on his residence in sector 3 of MVP Colony in the city on May 8.