Kathmandu, March 4

A joint team of the Kathmandu District Administration and the Metropolitan Police Range raided two drug depots of Lomus Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd and Deurali Janata Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd and sealed them for allegedly selling life-saving medicines at higher rates.

SSP Vikram Singh Thapa, MPR in-charge, said the joint market monitoring team had sealed Lazimpat-based depot of Lomus Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd owned by former president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Pradeep Jung Pandey and Hattisar-based depot of Deurali Janata Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd.

Police have also detained Pradeep’s sons Prabal Jung Pandey, executive director, and Prajwal Jung Pandey, director, of Lomus Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd, Nil Raj Acharya, general manager of Deurali Janata Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd, and Nigam Adhikari for further investigation.

Police informed that the cops raided the depots following a tip-off that the companies had been selling medicines at higher rates in contravention of the government decisions.

The officials have decided to continue market monitoring to curb unethical business practices. “The companies had been selling life-saving medicines at rates higher than those fixed by the government,” SSP Bikram Singh Thapa of the Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu said.

According to police, they were caught selling medicines by printing 10-20 per cent higher maximum retail price.

The government had fixed the price of 78 general and life-saving medicines for chronic diseases, including cancer, by publishing a notice in the Nepal Gazette on August 4 as per the July 6 Cabinet decision.