Chennai: Five more people, including two in the Southern Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu, were arrested for selling Remdesivir injection, used for treating COVID patients, in the black market at higher prices.
In Tuticorin, police seized 42 Remdesivir vials from the duo and the district police is conemplating to detain them under the Goondas Act as suggested by Chief Minister M K Stalin, who had termed selling the drug at higher prices in blackmarket as a serious offence, especially during the pandemic.
The other three arrests were made at upmarket Indira Nagar area in Chennai on Sunday from whom two bottles were seized.
Yesterday, 24 people were arrested and 243 Remdesivir injections were seized from them in Chennai.
Earlier, six people, including two from Chennai, were nabbed on Friday.
With this 35 people, including 29 in Chennai were so far arrested in this connection during the last 2-3 days in the State.
Reports received here from Tuticorin said, acting on information that a wholesale drug store in a complex was selling Remdesivir at higher rates, a special police team headed by Kovilpatti Deputy Superintendent of Police Kalaikadiavan and Health department deputy director Dr Anitha raided the place and seized 42 vials.
The shop owner Shanmugam and his brother Ganesan were arrested and they are expected to be detained under Goondas Act.
In Chennai, a special team attached to the office of the Adyar Deputy Commissioner of Police arrested three persons for selling the drug worth Rs 800 for Rs 25,000 to prospective online clients and seized two bottles from them, besides Rs 89,000 in cash.
Those arrested were Adithyan, a medicine salesman from K.K. Nagar, Rajkumar who runs a pharmacy in Pattalam and Syed Amjed, who works in a medical shop in Thousand Lights area.
