Eight held in spurious Himalaya wellness tablet racket

Eight people have been arrested for allegedly manufacturing and distributing fake tablets of the Himalaya Wellness Company, police said on Thursday.

Muradnagar police arrested three accused Johnny Singh, Farman and Muzammil on Thursday in connection with the racket. Earlier on Sunday, five other gang members Mayank, Nitin Tyagi, Anoop Garg, Tushar and Akash were taken into custody.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rural) Surendra Nath Tiwari said police have recovered around 85,000 counterfeit tablets, along with printed wrappers and small plastic containers used for packaging. Preliminary investigation indicates the gang got the spurious tablets manufactured in Sonipat district of Haryana, while plastic containers and printed wrappers were prepared in Meerut (Uttar Pradesh). The accused allegedly supplied the fake medicines to medical stores through courier services. All eight arrested have been remanded to jail, and further investigation is underway.

The Muradnagar arrests form part of a wider pattern of spurious drug rackets uncovered across the country. In Ghaziabad, five people were recently arrested for making fake Himalaya Liv‑52 tablets, and police lodged FIRs under provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act as investigations continue.

Delhi authorities have also cracked down on counterfeit medicine syndicates, including a major pan‑India network producing fake life‑saving drugs under top brand names, leading to multiple arrests and factory raids in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Another operation in the capital arrested individuals selling counterfeit anti‑cancer drugs sourced from abroad.

In Odisha, the Special Task Force arrested four men from Varanasi for supplying fake medicines to dealers, as part of dismantling an interstate racket. Authorities in Uttar Pradesh also recently seized counterfeit drugs worth crores and arrested traders linked to syndicates operating from Agra and Lucknow.

Health regulators such as state Food and Drug Administrations (FDAs) and the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) have responded with inspections, seizures, recalls of substandard products, licensing suspensions and arrests to curb these illegal operations. However, the recurrence of such cases points to organized criminal networks exploiting gaps in regulation and distribution , posing serious risks to public health.