Authorities in Gurugram have uncovered a racket involved in the manufacturing and sale of fake Mounjaro (tirzepatide) injections, arresting two people and issuing a nationwide alert to trace counterfeit batches, officials said on Monday.
Drug Control Officer Amandeep Chauhan said investigators are probing the full network behind the illegal operation and tracking all those linked to the racket.
A Health Department team raided a residential society in Sector 62 on Monday and arrested two people, including the alleged kingpin.
According to officials, the accused imported raw drugs from China and manufactured counterfeit Mounjaro injections from a flat in the society. The illegal products were allegedly sold through the B2B portal Indiamart.
Mounjaro is a weekly injectable medicine used for type 2 diabetes that helps control blood sugar levels and supports weight loss.
"We received information about a fake injection chain operating in Gurugram and acting on this information, we conducted a raid", Chauhan said.
Earlier on Saturday, officials recovered injections worth Rs 70 lakh from a vehicle in DLF Phase 4. During the follow-up probe, the team raided the Sector 62 flat where injections were allegedly prepared by mixing water with raw drugs.
"Afterwards, all the packaging, barcode affixing and labelling were done in the same flat. The team also recovered packaging machines," they added.
Police first arrested Mujjamil, a deliveryman from DLF Phase 4. Later, the alleged main accused, Avi Sharma, was also taken into custody.
"Mujjamil is from Uttar Pradesh, while Avi is from Gurugram. The accused were preparing these injections in their flat, they said.
"A nationwide alert has been issued regarding the injections. Batch numbers have also been shared so that health department teams can remain vigilant and detect counterfeit injections.
"An investigation into the entire network is underway to determine where the fake injections were supplied and how many people are involved in this racket," said Chauhan.
Rajesh Goyal, a chemist, said counterfeiters were exploiting rising demand for the drug.
Experts warned that fake injections can lead to serious health complications.
