Overview

• Federal judge Ernesto Kreplak authorized searches at ANMAT headquarters, INAME offices and several private residences to secure documents and digital devices.
• Investigators seized the cellphone of ANMAT director Nélida Agustina Bisio and phones from current and former INAME officials including Gabriela Mantecón Fumadó, Ana Laura Canil, Mariela Baldut and Maximiliano Lalín.
• The operations seek to preserve evidence on potential negligence, connivance or complicity tied to the manufacture, commercialization and lack of recall of HLB fentanyl linked to at least 96 deaths.
• Inspection records show INAME flagged critical deficiencies at Laboratorios Ramallo from November 28 to December 12, 2024, yet contaminated lots were produced on December 18 and broad suspensions were imposed months later.
• The widened inquiry follows arrests of HLB Pharma and Laboratorios Ramallo executives, the August removal of INAME’s chief and continued public backing for Bisio by the health minister.