Turkiye travel sheds light on alleged spurious-drug network, investigators say

Investigators examining an alleged spurious-drugs racket in Bengaluru say its suspected kingpin travelled repeatedly to Turkiye to obtain original pharmaceutical labels. Prashanth, who is in the custody of the Special Investigation Team, allegedly used the labels on counterfeit medicines to make them appear genuine, according to sources cited by The Hindu. The findings have raised questions about the operation’s international links.

Sources said Prashanth travelled to Turkiye several times a year, reportedly to obtain labels belonging to a pharmaceutical company. His visa was cancelled on multiple occasions, after which investigators suspect he began travelling to neighbouring countries. The accused also travelled to other countries, including Azerbaijan, where he was staying before his arrest.

Investigators suspect that intermediaries in Turkiye helped procure the original labels, although the source material does not identify those intermediaries. According to the investigation, the genuine labels were allegedly placed on counterfeit medicines. The products were then repackaged and supplied as though they were authentic medicines.

The SIT also reportedly suspects that Prashanth and his associates mixed counterfeit medicines with original products before supplying them to the market. Investigators believe this method may have been intended to make the alleged activity more difficult to detect. The investigation is continuing into the alleged international network, including the role of intermediaries and the countries visited by Prashanth.

The available material presents the findings as allegations under investigation; it does not report a final court determination or provide details of charges.