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Two selling vial of black fungus drug for ₹11,300 held, 20 vials seized
The two had procured the injections from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh and were selling each vial for ₹11,300, which is about 36 times its actual price of about ₹330, the police said.
The Delhi Police on Monday said arrested two men and seized 20 vials of amphotericin B, currently a hard-to-obtain antifungal drug used for treating patients who have mucormycosis, or black fungus, a disease that is on the rise across the country.
The two had procured the injections from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh and were selling each vial for ₹11,300, which is about 36 times its actual price of about ₹330, the police said.
This is the first seizure of the antifungal drug in Delhi and the second case of cheating in the name of delivering urgently needed injections in the past three days.
The increasing cases of black fungus (mucormycosis) and an acute shortage of amphotericin B injection -- the only effective drug against the disease according to doctors -- has led to the hoarding and black marketing of the injection, police said. A similar hoarding and black-marketing of drugs such as remdesivir, faviprarir and ivermectin, which are used to treat Covid-19 patients, was seen in the month of April and early-May, when Covid cases were at an all-time high in the capital.
Experts also said the sudden rise in black fungus cases, especially in recovered Covid-19 patients, may be because of the high use of steroids and them remaining on oxygen and ventilator support for a prolonged time.
Given the spike in cases, the allocation of amphotericin B to various states and Union territories (UTs) is being done by the central government, depending upon the number of cases reported by each state and UT. Union minister of chemicals and fertilizers DV Sadanand Godwa on Saturday had announced an allocation of 23,680 additional vials of amphotericin B to all states and UTs.
Deputy commissioner of police (south) Atul Kumar Thakur said on Sunday, two students who are members of a WhatsApp group, “Covid Helper”, formed to help out patients, told the Saket police about the black marketing of amphotericin B. The duo said while they were trying to source the drug for a patient, they came across a person who was selling one vial for ₹11,300.
“The students demanded 20 vials of amphotericin B and the person agreed to deliver them for ₹2.26 lakh. The delivery was scheduled near Max hospital in Saket. Our raiding team along with the students reached the meeting point and waited for the suspects, who arrived in a MGF Hector SUV. Spotting the police team, the suspects tried to flee but were caught. The car was searched and 20 vials of amphotericin B were seized,” said DCP Thakur.
A case was registered and the two men, identified as Rajnish Shrivastava,46, and his driver Murtaza Khan,36, were arrested. The SUV in which they were travelling and transporting the injections was also seized.
“Shrivastava disclosed that he brought the injections from Lucknow and was trying to sell them at a very high price, taking advantage of the current shortage. We are now trying to find out how and from whom Shrivastava procured the injections. The seized injections are of the newly produced lot,” said Thakur.
Police said Shrivastava completed his masters in tourism from Lucknow University and later started a company, AmbuSmith Inc., that deals in medical equipment and modification of ambulances.
Shrivastava is into the trading of medical equipment such as stretchers and ICU beds for hospitals. His business of modifying ambulances is being run from a workshop in Mohammadpur village near the Delhi airport. Khan, his driver, also helped him in the business.
Driver arrested for cheating
In another case, a 28-year-old driver was arrested on Saturday for allegedly cheating the family of a patient suffering from black fungus of ₹3,000 after promising the home delivery of amphotericin B. The arrested man, Prashant Kumar Sharma, had circulated his mobile number on social media as a supplier of the antifungal drug. The patient’s family contacted him and he tricked them into paying ₹3,000 into his online wallet. However, after taking the money, SHarma neither delivered the injection nor returned the money, said deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) R Sathiyasundaram.
“Two mobile phones were seized from Sharma. We are trying to ascertain the number of people he had duped by promising to deliver amphotericin B injections,” added Sathiyasundaram.
Delhi Police chief SN Shrivastava, in a virtual meeting with senior officers on Saturday, had directed them to remain vigilant and take action against financial frauds, cyber crimes, and fraudsters involved in the black-marketing of essentials such as medicines.
