A man has been apprehended in Houston, Texas, on charges of selling and distributing counterfeit cancer medications valued at tens of thousands of dollars to individuals in the United States.
Sanjay Kumar, 43, hailing from Bihar, India, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday.
He was taken into custody on Friday in Houston while in the U.S. to negotiate further deals to grow his illegal business of peddling fake oncology medicines in the country, as reported by the U.S. Justice Department.
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A man has been apprehended in Houston, Texas, on charges he sold and shipped counterfeit cancer medications worth tens of thousands of dollars to individuals in the U.S.
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Kumar, along with his co-conspirators, is accused of orchestrating the sale and distribution of counterfeit versions of Keytruda and other oncology drugs to unsuspecting individuals in the United States.
The DOJ stated that genuine Keytruda is a cancer immunotherapy approved in the U.S. for 19 distinct indications, including treatment for lung cancer, head and neck cancer, gastric cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma, and melanoma.
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Sanjay Kumar was taken into custody on Friday in Houston while negotiating further deals to broaden his illegal operations.
(iStock)
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According to the DOJ, Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC holds the exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute Keytruda in the United States.
Kumar faces one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit drugs and four counts of trafficking in counterfeit drugs. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison for each count.
