Police bust fake drugs unit; spurious Betnovate-C, fairness cream seized

The Cyber Cell of the Crime Branch has busted a major racket involved in the illegal manufacture of spurious medicines and fake cosmetic products, unearthing an unauthorised manufacturing unit in southwest Delhi and seizing a huge quantity of fake drugs and branded creams.

The operation led to the arrest of Pramod Kumar Gupta, who was allegedly supplying spurious Betnovate-C ointment and running an illegal unit from a rented farmhouse in Bijwasan village. Police said the racket dealt a serious blow to public health and was part of an organised supply chain of fake pharmaceutical and cosmetic products.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Aditya Gautam said the case was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. “This was a well-organised operation involving illegal manufacturing, fake branding and distribution of spurious medicines and cosmetics. Such crimes directly endanger public health, and strict action is being taken,” he said.

The case dates back to December 12, when two accused, Ram and Gaurav Bhagat, were arrested. During interrogation, Ram disclosed the role of Pramod Gupta, who allegedly supplied fake Betnovate-C ointment and managed the illegal manufacturing facility. Based on this input, Crime Branch teams tracked Gupta using technical surveillance.

Police arrested Gupta from Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station around 12.30 pm. During questioning, he led the team to the illegal unit operating from a farmhouse in Bijwasan. The premises were inspected in the presence of a Drug Inspector, who collected samples and documented violations.

A large quantity of raw material, finished products, packaging material and manufacturing machinery was recovered. Police seized around 600 kg of stearic acid, machines used for packaging and manufacturing, empty boxes and thousands of finished cosmetic products.

During the raid, a representative of Hindustan Unilever Limited was called to verify the seized items. The company official confirmed that the recovered Fair & Lovely cream and Veet hair removal cream were fake and not manufactured by HUL.

Investigators also found that Gupta had attempted to destroy evidence after learning about police action. Police said he allegedly burnt around 25 cartons containing nearly 27,000 tubes of spurious Betnovate-C ointment after his associate was arrested. He then locked the unit and fled Delhi before being tracked down.