NCB arrests Amritsar resident in pharma drug syndicate case

Tightening the noose around the pharmaceutical drug syndicate busted by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the Central agency has arrested a local resident and seized 62,000 intoxicating tablets from his possession.

Till now, the NCB has arrested four members of the drug syndicate and seized a total of 5.62 lakh tramadol tablets from their possession during the month-long investigations.

A case under the NDPS Act has been registered in this connection. Officials claimed that this is one of the biggest pharmaceutical drug consignments recovered in the city in the recent past.

Following the arrests, the NCB has obtained a significant lead related to the Amritsar drug network. In its ongoing operation, now in its fifth consecutive day, the agency has raided eight to nine warehouses across Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts to scrutinise suspicious demand orders.

According to NCB sources, three suspects were arrested on Saturday with five lakh tablets en route from Dehradun to Amritsar’s wholesale drug market from near Zirakpur.

During interrogation, the name of Suraj, a resident of Sultanwind Road, surfaced. A subsequent raid at his warehouse led to the recovery of 62,000 more tablets. Suraj is scheduled to be produced in court on Tuesday. Officials are tight-lipped about the initial arrests, as it could hamper the probe.

Sources indicated that several more sizeable drug consignments are likely to be recovered in the coming days.

Several pharma companies in the Katra Sher Singh drug market have come under the NCB scanner. Senior officers of the agency from Chandigarh and Delhi may also join the operation shortly.