Delhi: Drug control team busts cough syrup racket, 4 held

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Nov 27, 2017 : The Delhi government’s drug control department has busted a nexus that was illegally transporting codeine preparation phensedyl cough syrup from Delhi to Bangladesh and Myanmar.

 

As of now, the department has caught four wholesalers dealing with drugs and medicines involved in the black marketing of habit forming substances from Bhagirath place, Model Town and Loni in east Delhi and Rohini in west Delhi.

One accused chemist shop owner is still on the run, said a crime branch officer.

Officials said codeine preparations are therapeutically used for cough, but they are being sent to Bangladesh and Myanmar for drug addiction.

"We have taken strict action against those selling phensedyl cough syrup of codeine preparation. The narcotics department is also investigating the case. Now, we are going to cancel the licences of people involved in the racket," a senior drug control officer told Mail Today, on condition of anonymity.

According to the official, these codeine preparation drugs are banned in Bangladesh. Drug addicts, however, intake codeine preparation cough syrups.

People here involved in supplying the drugs make a lot of money out of it, the official added.

"In India, phensedyl cough syrup of codeine preparation costs around Rs 60-70 and its price changes to Rs 300 in Bangladesh. So, people are making lot of money by smuggling it there," he said.

"Last week, we got a tip-off from Odisha’s drug regulator body, which cracked down a similar racket there and officials were informed that a nexus is working here in Delhi too. During the probe, we found that these wholesalers are not supplying the bottles to chemists. They were making false bills and later forwarding the codeine drugs to Bangladesh through Myanmar."

Taking cognisance of the matter, the state drug regulatory department is now investigating each and every wholesale unit in the national Capital to keep a track on storage of habit forming substances, especially cough syrups.

"Traders now have to give proper record of sale and purchase of codeine preparation cough syrups and those who will not give data will face strict action," an official said.

The department has written a strong letter to the company that their C&F (carrying and forwarding) agents should not more than 250 bottles of the cough syrup to any distributor in Delhi.

In a letter to the company manufacturing phensedyl cough syrup, the department directed that such cough syrups should be controlled and monitored regularly before being given to any distributor in Delhi.

The drug controlling department regularly keeps tab on pharmaceutical products such as buprenorphine (used to treat opiate addiction), codeine-based cough syrups and sedatives such as alprazolam and diazepam.

Informing about the recent raids made by the drug controlling department, an official said, "We have acted against 18 chemists and pharmacists who were caught red-handed selling drugs such as avil, diazepam, proxyvon, tramadol injections and corex syrup that leads to substance abuse. We have cancelled the licences of these shops."

couresy:India Today