Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Goa Police have registered an FIR against a pharmaceutical distribution company based in Santa Cruz for allegedly cheating the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) by supplying fake snake anti-venom to the government.
Police said the firm misrepresented the manufacturer of lyophilised snake anti-venom and used imitation labels and packaging to pass off the product as genuine. Based on these representations, the DHS placed a purchase order worth ₹14.9 lakh with the company.
However, the consignment was later found to be spurious during scrutiny, prompting the authorities to lodge a complaint. An offence has been registered at the Panaji police station under sections related to cheating and copyright violations.
Meanwhile, officials from the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) have seized 1,080 vials of the suspected fake anti-venom from the firm’s premises. Samples of the seized stock have been sent to a laboratory for detailed analysis to ascertain their contents and safety.
Further investigation is underway to determine the source of the spurious drug and whether similar supplies were made elsewhere.
