FIA busts gang selling govt-funded drugs in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: The Anti-Corruption Circle of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) conducted a series of raids and arrested a gang of six individuals allegedly selling government-funded medicines in Peshawar, ARY News reported on Friday.

As per the FIA spokesperson, a total of six individuals, including three hospital employees – identified as Sulaiman, Abdul Jabbar, Abid, Ammad, Tahir, and Yousuf Jan – have been arrested in connection with the embezzlement of government-funded medicines worth millions in Peshawar.

The accused Yousuf Jan has been identified as the mastermind of the gang, while the three technicians of the Lady Reading Hospital were identified as Sulaiman, Abdul Jabbar, and Abid.

Following the identification of the suspects, the FIA conducted raids on various private hospitals in Peshawar.

Ammad was apprehended at Al-Shafa Health Center in Dabgari Garden Peshawar, where he worked as a ward boy in Shirin Shah Memorial Hospital. His arrest led to the capture of the other accused individuals.

The raids resulted in the recovery of significant quantities of official medicines from both the warehouse of Peshawar Hospital and Al-Shafa Health Care Hospital.

The FIA spokesperson emphasized that these actions were crucial in dismantling the network involved in the illegal sale of government-provided medicines.

Earlier this month, the FIA Anti-Corruption Circle Islamabad conducted a crackdown against elements and arrested two individuals involved in the sale of fake and unregistered medicines.

According to FIA spokesperson, a suspect, Mazhar Qeebbal, allegedly involved in the sale of fake and unregistered medicines from a medical store situated in the Diplomatic Enclave Islamabad has been arrested.

The spokesperson stated that this arrest follows the recent detention of two suspects from the same medical store last week.

During that raid, counterfeit and unregistered drugs were seized by FIA officials.

The FIA spokesperson disclosed that officials from the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) were also part of the operation.

It was revealed that these illicit drugs were being sold at exorbitant prices in the black market, posing a significant threat to public health and safety.