Pharmacist, aide sell Remdesivir for four times its price, held

A pharmacist and his aide were arrested on Friday by Mira Road police for selling Remdesivir, a drug used to treat Covid-19, at four times its price. A medical store

A pharmacist and his aide were arrested on Friday by Mira Road police for selling Remdesivir, a drug used to treat Covid-19, at four times its price. A medical store inside a reputed hospital in Mumbai is also under the scanner after the two arrested accused — Sonu Darshi, 25, who works in a medical shop in Mira Road, and his aide Rodriques Raul, 31 — alleged they got the drugs from the said hospital to sell in the black market.

HT Image

A social worker from Thane, Dr Binu Verghese, tipped off the police about the duo selling remdesivir for around ₹20,000 for one vial while the retail price is ₹5,400.

“Following that tip-off, we sent Verghese as a decoy customer. At first, the accused asked for ₹30,000 per vial, but later settled for ₹20,000. They said the drug was being sold in black market from a medical store of a reputed hospital in Mumbai for ₹21,000 each, but they negotiated it to ₹20,000,” said senior inspector Sandeep Kadam.

The police caught them in the act when they were handing over the vials to Verghese. “We arrested the duo under section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955; Food Drug Administration Act, 1940; and Drug Price Control Act, 2013. They have been remanded in police custody till July 15 by the Thane court on Saturday. We are probing the accused’s statement that they had procured the medicines from a store inside a Mumbai hospital. The store was closed when we went there,” Kadam said, adding they are investigating the matter.