The Himachal Pradesh Drugs Control Administration (DCA) has busted a ghost pharmaceutical firm allegedly operating from Baddi using forged regulatory documents to cheat prospective drug buyers, leading to the arrest of its operator by the Haryana Police.

State Drugs Controller Dr Manish Kapoor constituted a special team after receiving credible information that fake regulatory approvals were being used by a purported pharmaceutical company to obtain orders and advance payments from buyers.

The investigation, conducted in coordination with Baddi SP Vinod Dhiman, found prima facie evidence that forged drug manufacturing licences, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) certificates, product permissions and pharmaceutical labels were being used to project the existence of a legitimate manufacturing unit.

The probe identified the accused as Ajay Kumar, who allegedly operated a non-existent firm, M/s Dr Trustmed, from Baddi. Electronic devices seized during the investigation reportedly contained fabricated licences and certificates purportedly issued by the Himachal Pradesh DCA.

The fraud surfaced after a pharmaceutical trader in Kaithal, Haryana, paid for medicines but did not receive the consignment. After the DCA confirmed that no such firm existed in Baddi, the Cyber Crime Police Station, Kaithal, registered an FIR on June 17. Ajay Kumar was arrested from Baddi.

Officials also found that Dr Trustmed had registered itself as an exporter on the Exporters India portal, claiming to be a manufacturer, exporter, supplier and trader operating in the Baddi industrial area since 2020. The firm advertised a wide range of pharmaceutical products and falsely claimed to have a WHO-GMP-compliant manufacturing facility.

A late-evening raid on Wednesday at the firm’s purported premises — Shop No. 11, Krishna Market, Sheetalpur Road, Baddi — revealed no manufacturing infrastructure. Officials are now investigating whether the accused had tie-ups with genuine pharmaceutical manufacturers to execute supply orders.

Dr Kapoor said the DCA would take stringent legal action against those involved in forging regulatory documents and operating fake pharmaceutical entities. He also urged traders and distributors to verify manufacturing licences and regulatory approvals with the competent authorities before entering into commercial transactions.