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US says two Indian nationals indicted in counterfeit Ozempic smuggling scheme

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The Straits Times. (2026, September 29). US says two Indian nationals indicted in counterfeit Ozempic smuggling scheme. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/us-says-two-indian-nationals-indicted-in-counterfeit-ozempic-smuggling-scheme

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Straits Times · collected 2026-09-29 · by The Straits Times

Quick Summary

Two Indian nationals have been indicted by a US federal grand jury for allegedly smuggling and selling counterfeit Ozempic, a weight-loss drug, between July 2023 and April 2024. One defendant, Swapnadip Roy, was extradited from Italy and pleaded not guilty; the other, Vicky Ramancha, remains at large. The defendants obtained the fake medication in China and sold it to US distributors at discounted prices despite an FDA warning about counterfeit Ozempic in December 2023. They face charges including smuggling and selling counterfeit drugs, conspiracy to commit smuggling, and defrauding the United States, with a potential sentence of up to 71 years in prison if convicted.
Written by AI on 2026-09-30, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Two Indian nationals, Swapnadip Roy and Vicky Ramancha, have been indicted by a US federal grand jury for allegedly smuggling and selling counterfeit Ozempic between July 2023 and April 2024. Ozempic, a popular weight-loss drug costing hundreds of dollars per month, was obtained from China and sold to US distributors at discounted prices. Roy pleaded not guilty after being extradited from Italy, while Ramancha remains at large. The counterfeit medication included packaging meant to deceive buyers into believing they were purchasing genuine products. Despite the FDA seizing some counterfeit Ozempic in December 2023 and issuing a public warning, the scheme continued unabated.

Written for “Counterfeit Ozempic Indictment Usa India” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Counterfeit Ozempic Indictment Usa India
Health · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 33% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Hindu
Hedges 3 of 8 claims Outlet record 60/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
9
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
33%
3 of 9 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Health
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-30 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Straits Times · 4184 article(s) · 5 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)

Who wrote this

The Straits Times
2721 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
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Also by The Straits Times
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 2721 articles by The Straits Times →

Topics

Indian Italy Ozempic WASHINGTON the Department of Justice

Subjects

Ramancha PERSON · 3× Roy PERSON · 3× Indian NORP · 2× China GPE · 1× FDA ORG · 1× Italy GPE · 1× Swapnadip Roy PERSON · 1× Vicky Ramancha PERSON · 1× WASHINGTON GPE · 1× the Department of Justice ORG · 1×

Narrative

“The scheme continued even after the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) seized some of the counterfeit Ozempic in December 2023 and issued a public warning regarding the products,” the Justice Department said.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-30

Claims (9 extracted, 3 hedged)

US says two Indian nationals indicted in counterfeit Ozempic smuggling scheme asserted
nationals → say → scheme
Two Indian nationals have been indicted by a US federal grand jury for allegedly smuggling and selling counterfeit Ozempic, the weight-loss drug, the Department of Justice said on Sept 29. uncertain
Department → indict → Sept
One of the defendants, Swapnadip Roy, pleaded not guilty after being extradited from Italy while the other, Vicky Ramancha, remains at large, the department said. asserted
department → plead → Italy
Between July 2023 and April 2024, Roy and Ramancha allegedly obtained counterfeit Ozempic in China and sold it to US distributors at discounted prices, it said. uncertain
it → obtain → prices
A legal representative for Roy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. asserted
representative → respond → comment
The counterfeit medication included packaging, inserts and labels allegedly meant to convince purchasers that they were receiving authentic Ozempic, the popular weight-loss drug that can cost hundreds of dollars per month for patients. uncertain
that → include → patients
“The scheme continued even after the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) seized some of the counterfeit Ozempic in December 2023 and issued a public warning regarding the products,” the Justice Department said. asserted
Department → continue → products
Roy and Ramancha were charged with smuggling and selling counterfeit drugs, conspiracy to commit smuggling and to defraud the United States. asserted
Roy → charge → States
They face up to 71 years in prison if convicted. asserted
They → face → prison
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