Overview

• Federal judge Ernesto Kreplak authorized orders of presentation with backup search warrants at ANMAT headquarters, INAME offices, and multiple private residences to secure phones and documents.
• Devices were seized from ANMAT chief Nélida Agustina Bisio, former INAME head Gabriela Mantecón Fumadó, and INAME officials Ana Laura Canil, Mariela Baldut, and Maximiliano Carlos Lalín.
• The procedures aim to preserve evidence on potential responsibility for the production, distribution, and failure to recover HLB fentanyl later linked to patient infections.
• The investigation, driven by prosecutor Laura Roteta since August 20, examines possible negligence, connivance, or complicity by health regulators alongside prior arrests of HLB Pharma and Laboratorios Ramallo executives, including Ariel García Furfaro.
• Case records show INAME inspectors flagged critical deficiencies at the Ramallo plant between November 28 and December 12, 2024, before contaminated batches were made on December 18 and operations were suspended in May, with at least 96 deaths under investigation.