Uttar Pradesh authorities seize counterfeit meds

A series of raids in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh during November uncovered  fake and substandard drugs to the value of 10.4m rupees (around $222,000) and led to the arrests of eight people, according to a Times of India report.

The operation, carried out by the state Food and Drug Administration (FDA), found hubs for the medicines counterfeiting trade in Muzaffarnagar, Varanasi and Lucknow. The raids were carried out over a 15-day period across 14 state districts, and more are planned for 2010.