India to probe Chinese drug imports

India's crime investigation bureau will probe imports of drugs from Chinese firms that are not registered with the Indian drug regulator, a newspaper report said on Friday.

Four cases have been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for inquiries, the Business Standard financial daily said, citing unnamed official sources.

Drug imports in India are allowed only from those companies whose manufacturing units are registered with the federal drug regulator.

The authorities have found discrepancies in packing and labelling of the goods, the report said.

The Chinese manufacturers that were named in the documents indicated that the products were not sourced from them, the report added.

Indian drug industry, which imported drugs worth 67 billion rupees (USD1.43 billion) in 2007/08 is highly dependent on Chinese bulk drugs.