It didn't take long for fraudsters to find something to do even in this pandemic. The Mumbai Crime Branch, in a joint operation with the Maharashtra Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), unearthed a racket wherein the drug Remdesivir, being used to treat COVID-19 patients, was being sold at a price higher than MRP. In a trap laid by Crime Branch and the FDA, seven people involved in the racket were arrested from different locations in Mumbai and 13 remdesivir vials recovered from them. They were selling each for Rs 30,000 when the MRP is Rs 5,400.

The trap
According to Mumbai Crime Branch, FDA Inspector Sharadchandra Nandekar got the tip off about the Remdesivir being sold for a higher price, and he approached Mumbai Crime Branch Unit 7. Its officials along with FDA laid a trap by contacting the main distributor, identified as Bhavesh Shah, 46, and he agreed to provide the Remdesivir vials.