Lucknow, Sept. 4 -- The Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA), while probing a fake medicines case registered in Lucknow, busted an interstate drug syndicate allegedly manufacturing the allopathic medicine LEVERA-500 illegally at a unit in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, according to a press note issued by the FSDA on Thursday. Acting on leads obtained during the investigation, a joint team of UP FSDA, police, the Madhya Pradesh drug administration, Ayush department and local police raided the manufacturing premises in Ujjain. Investigators found that the unit had an Ayurvedic drug manufacturing licence, but was allegedly being used to manufacture the allopathic drug. Preliminary investigation revealed that around 4.80 lakh tablets, packed in nearly 32,000 strips, were manufactured and transported to Haridwar through private buses. Investigators found that the active pharmaceutical ingredient Levetiracetam IP was procured from Mumbai, while printed packing material was allegedly supplied separately. The probe has indicated that the network had been operating for eight to 10 years. Payments linked to the manufacture and supply of the medicine were allegedly made both in cash and through online transactions. Investigators are examining bills, invoices, digital payment records, mobile data and other physical evidence to establish the complete supply chain. The team also found evidence suggesting an attempt to destroy and conceal material after the Lucknow FIR came to light. Remaining medicines, packing material, die-punches and other manufacturing components were allegedly destroyed, while a high-tech packing machine was concealed at another location. During the raid, 5,250 unlabelled glass vials were recovered from the roof of the premises. Samples of the suspicious vials have been sent to a government laboratory for testing. Samples of eight Ayurvedic medicines were also collected for examination. The investigation began with an FIR registered at Aminabad police station in Lucknow in connection with alleged counterfeit medicines, illegal diversion and forged billing. Three suspects have been arrested in the case, and information obtained during questioning led investigators to the Ujjain manufacturing facility....