Siddhartha Nagar (UP), Jun 17 (IANS): Four ad hoc health workers in Siddhartha Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh have been arrested for selling government antigen kits online.

The kits were being dispatched to Patna through courier when police raided their hideout at the railway crossing area in Uska Bazaar police circles.

Over 2,000 kits worth Rs 20 lakh were seized from their possession.

Siddhartha Nagar Superintendent of Police Ram Abhilash Tripathi said that efforts were underway to arrest their accomplices after interrogation of the four accused -- Shiv Shankar Choudhary, Vinod Kumar Tripathi, Mukhtar Ali and Omkar Tripathi.

The SP said, "We had received intelligence inputs about antigen testing kits being sold online and in the open market. We worked on the tip-off and arrested the gang members with the consignment. The gang's network will be busted soon."

Police officials said that the arrested persons ran the racket through a network of conduits.

"First, they would browse the internet for customers and after getting confirmed orders, they would dispatch the consignment to clients, majority of whom were based in Patna. They also sold the kits in the open market for Rs 1,000 each," said a police official.