# Two Indians charged in US for smuggling fake Ozempic from China

2026-09-30T00:56:57+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 5 independent outlets

US prosecutors have charged two Indian nationals with smuggling counterfeit Ozempic from China and selling it at discounted prices to American distributors. Swapnadip Roy, 33, was extradited from Italy and pleaded not guilty in a Tampa federal court on Tuesday. His alleged co-conspirator Vicky Ramancha, 37, remains at large. The indictment alleges the scheme ran from July 2023 to April 2024 and used fake packaging, labels and inserts to mimic genuine Ozempic. The Department of Justice said the operation continued even after the US Food and Drug Administration seized some counterfeit products and issued a public warning in December 2023. If convicted on all seven counts, each faces up to 71 years in prison.

## Indian Opinion Analysis

All sources report a single US Department of Justice press release almost verbatim, with no variation in framing. GreatAndhra adds Gallup data on GLP-1 demand, IndiaToday and Hindustan Times lead with the prison term, The Hindu notes the not-guilty plea and counsel availability. No source adopts a pro-government or critical stance toward any Indian government actor, because the story is about a US prosecution of private individuals. The uniform coverage means the key question is enforcement scale: how many such cross-border counterfeit drug rings exist and whether the FDA seizure and warning in December 2023 disrupted this particular supply chain only briefly before it resumed. The court will determine guilt or innocence, the 71-year maximum is a statutory ceiling, not a sentence.

## Coverage

Coverage: 5 sources, 5 neutral
- greatandhra.com (neutral report) <https://www.greatandhra.com/articles/special-articles/two-indians-charged-in-us-over-counterfeit-ozempic-smuggling/>
  Straight wire report, adds Gallup demand data and Duva quote
- indiatoday.in (neutral report) <https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/two-indian-nationals-charged-in-us-over-counterfeit-ozempic-sales-3006163-2026-09-30?utm_source=rss>
  Straight wire report, leads with prison term and not-guilty plea
- ndtv.com (neutral report) <https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/2-indians-charged-in-us-for-selling-fake-ozempic-they-smuggled-it-from-china-12117436>
  Extremely brief, no slant beyond DOJ summary
- hindustantimes.com (neutral report) <https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/two-indian-nationals-charged-with-selling-fake-ozempic-in-us-101790732516213.html>
  Straight wire report with full DOJ quotes, no slant
- thehindu.com (neutral report) <https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/us-says-two-indian-nationals-indicted-in-counterfeit-ozempic-smuggling-scheme/article71526547.ece>
  Straight wire report, notes not-guilty plea and legal representation status

This brief was synthesised by AI from the 5 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry.
Updated: this story now draws on 5 sources. Last updated 2026-09-30T05:03:16+00:00.

Tags: FDA, Ozempic, Swapnadip Roy, US Department of Justice, Vicky Ramancha
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How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/