Month on, drugs sold illegally by Himachal firm yet to be traced

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, January 8

Officials of the State Narcotics Crime Control Unit (SNCCU) of the state CID are trying to ascertain whether Rs 100 crore narcotic and psychotropic drugs sold by Baddi-based wholesale trader Dinesh Bansal, proprietor of Zannet Pharmaceuticals, were illegally diverted to various states, including Himachal. Bansal was arrested more than a month ago.

To ascertain the presence of the aforesaid drugs in the local markets of Himachal, the SNCCU has requested the state Drug Control Administration (DCA) to enquire whether these were supplied to retail and wholesale chemist shops.

A herculean task for narco unit

• Tracing the sales of Zannet Pharmaceuticals has become a Herculean task for the officials of the State Narcotics Crime Control Unit (SNCCU).
• Though financial transactions of the company are also being scanned, officials are yet to get credible information.
• Since these drugs are sold on the black market for abuse, it is being assumed that they were sold through nefarious elements in various north Indian states.

Dinesh Sharma, DSP, SNCCU, says that DCA officials are enquiring whether the retail and wholesale chemist shops in the state has stocks of three or four narcotic and psychotropic drugs traded by Zannet Pharmaceuticals. The company was largely dealing in narcotic drugs, which were traded through fake sales bills to fake companies in Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The SNCCU had seized a large amount of nitrazepam, codeine, etizolam and alpraz from the company’s premises in December last year. It is now trying to find out whether the drugs were diverted illegally to markets in various states.

State Drugs Controller Navneet Marwaha says that soon after a request was received from the SNCCU, field officials were directed to trace three or four such drugs in the retail and wholesale outlets in all three zones of the state.

The Assistant Drug Controllers of the Mandi Zone comprising Mandi, Kullu, Lahaul and Spiti, Hamirpur and Bilaspur districts; Kangra zone comprising Kangra, Chamba and Una districts; and Sirmaur zone comprising Nahan, Shimla, Kinnaur and Solan districts had directed all 40 drug inspectors to inspect all wholesale and retail shops. There are around 8,000 retail and wholesale chemist shops in the state, including around 800 in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh area.

Tracing the sales of Zannet Pharmaceuticals has become a Herculean task for the SNCCU officials. Though the financial transactions of the company are also being scanned, the officials are yet to get credible information. Since these drugs are sold on the black market for abuse, it is being assumed that they were sold through nefarious elements in various north Indian states.

The SNCCU officials are also yet to trace the co-accused, the owner of Sikar-based wholesale drug firm WB Medicos, who was hand in glove with Dinesh Bansal. He did not appear before the officials in Shimla on December 23.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.