The Karnataka government will be constituting a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe an alleged spurious drug racket involving illegal repacking and relabelling of medicines, with the Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration (FDA) seizing drugs and other materials estimated to cost Rs 4.91 crore from an unlicensed facility in Bidadi.

The racket came to light following a tip-off on Tuesday, when the FDA’s Drug Enforcement Wing conducted an inspection at a farmhouse in Kurubarakeranahalli, Bidadi. Officials found the premises allegedly being used to procure lower-cost medicines from other states, fill them into new vials and relabel them to resemble expensive multinational and imported drugs, including products bearing Pfizer’s name.