Profiteering during a pandemic: When a vial worth Rs 40k is sold at Rs 10 lakh

New Delhi, May 07: With the second wave of COVID-19 raging on and black markers making merry over shortage of medical supplies, the Delhi Police has booked over 300 cases.

The cases pertain to hoarding of drugs, injections and oxygen cylinders. The police have also arrested 140 black marketeers, while 450 vials of Remdesivir injections, 285 oxygen concentrators and 242 oxygen cylinders have been seized.

The Delhi Police is in touch with their counterparts in Uttarakhand and Bihar and are seeking support to conduct raids in connection with the same.

Further the Delhi Police also found that ambulances were overcharging patients up to Rs 1 lakh per trip.

The cops have booked cases for hoarding of medical equipment as well as black marketing.

Delhi Police sources tell OneIndia that the racket is taking place on a very large scale. While vials of Remdesivir have been sold at Rs 2,500, the Tocilizumab injection is being sold at prices between Rs 7 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. The original price of a Tocilizumab vial is at around Rs 40,000. The price of Remdesivir was recently dropped to around Rs 899 on the request of the Centre.

It was also found that these seamsters had created fake websites of the Health Ministry and were offering COVID-19 vaccines at Rs 4,000. Further the police found that through these websites, these seamsters were collecting money, but not delivering the promised medicines.

Meanwhile in Karnataka, 90 people were arrested for selling Remdesivir in the lack market. "Ninety people have been arrested for selling Remdesivir in the black market and cases booked against 38 persons for packaging fake Remdesivir," DGP Karnataka
said in a tweet, without mentioning the period during which they were arrested. Sood said the arrests were part of a drive to nab those trying to earn money illegally "in this tough situation." Demand has shot up for Remdesivir in Karnataka following the spike in the number of cases.

The state on Wednesday reported the single largest day spike in both COVID-19 cases and fatalities since the start of the pandemic, with 50,112 infections and 346 deaths. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had on May 1 warned of stringent action against those selling Remdesivir in the black market.