14 held for black marketing mucormycosis injections

Rajkot: After earning profits on remdesivir during the height of Covid-19 second wave, the black-marketeers have now turned to Amphotericin B injections and Liposomal (B) injections, which are used in the treatment of Mucormycosis, commonly known as black fungus.
Rajkot city police busted a major black-marketing racket of the two injections and arrested 14 accused, including two Ayurvedic doctors, on Monday. Police have seized as many as 101 injections of Amphotericin B and Liposomal (B) from the accused and launched a probe. Many states including Gujarat have declared black fungus as an epidemic disease.
“We have arrested 14 accused in the racket which included Dr Vatsal Barad (22), Dr Yash Chavda (23), Mehul Kateshiya (22), Gopal Vansh (25), Ashok Kagadia (28), Nikunj Thakar (21), Sagar Kiyada (22), Subham Tiwari (25), Vishwas Pavra (26), Abhisek Shah (24), Utsav Nimavat (25), Ruday Jagani (33) and Hiren Ramani (32),” Manoj Agarwal, Police Commissioner, Rajkot, told media persons here on Monday.
The list of 14 accused includes two ayurvedic doctors, three are nursing staff, two medical store owners, three employees of Ankleshwar-based company and an employee of a chemical company in Ankleshwar.
“The main accused in this racket is Hardik Vadalia (33), who is working in Ankleshwar-based J B Chemicals. Three others — Shah, Vishwas and Subham — are working at Lyka labs which produces these two injections. The three used to steal injections and its wrappers from the company and supply it to Vadalia. Next, Vadalia supplied these injections, through the two doctors and medical agencies, into the black market,” police said.
“They were selling these injections at exorbitant rates ranging between Rs 4500 to 6000 per vial whereas its market price is below Rs 500 per vial,” a police official said.