Punjab Police STF raids another Baddi unit, seizes cough syrup bottles
Ambika Sharma
Solan, May 12
A Special Task Force (STF) of the Punjab Police from Amritsar led by DSP Babinder Mahajan today raided Biogenetic Drugs Private Limited at Baddi and inspected various documents related to the sale and purchase of various psychotropic drugs and raw materials purchased in the last about an year.
Notice served, firm told to produce records
- DCA officials seized about 400 kg of codeine powder, 364 boxes of Alprazolam tablets and about 4,000 cough syrup bottles
- Preliminary investigation reveals that the company staff had failed to furnish information about the sale of psychotropic drugs to the authorities, as per the norms
- The Baddi authorities on Saturday served a notice on the firm and directed it to produce the details of the material purchased, drugs manufactured and sold in the past one year
Officials of the Drugs Control Administration (DCA), Baddi, comprising Acting State Drugs Controller Manish Kapoor and drug inspectors were also involved in the raid, which began in the morning and continued till late in the evening. The DCA officials seized about 400 kg of codeine powder, 364 boxes of Alprazolam tablets and about 4,000 cough syrup bottles. While Alprazolam tablets and cough syrups are commonly misused by drug addicts, codeine is used to manufacture cough syrups.
Preliminary investigation reveals that the company staff had failed to furnish information about the sale of psychotropic drugs to the authorities, as per the norms. Following this, its stock was being seized and an inquiry was underway into the inventory, manufactured drugs, their distribution and sale in the past about a year.
Meanwhile, the Baddi authorities served a notice on the firm today and directed it to produce the details of the material purchased, drugs manufactured and sold in the past one year.
This is the second raid of the Punjab STF at Biogenetic Drugs Private Limited, Baddi, after the nefarious drug sale racket was unearthed by them. The scrutiny of their records had revealed that the company had manufactured over 20 crore Alprazolam tablets in eight months. The supply chain was traced to Aster Pharma in Maharashtra whose investigation had led to Smilex Pharmachem Drug Industries.
While the authorities could not restrict a firm from manufacturing such drugs, the DCA was scrutinising whether Biogenetic Drugs Private Limited had informed the State Drugs Controller as well as the Superintendent of Police about its psychotropic drugs sale or not. Notably, its sister concern Smilex Pharmachem Drug Industry had failed to submit this information for the last one year to the authorities.
To tighten the noose around nefarious drug firms allegedly found selling illegal psychotropic drugs, the DCA has written to the state Anti-Narcotic Task Force to investigate their sale and distribution at Smilex Pharmachem Drug Industries and its sister concern Biogenetic Drugs Private Limited.
Being an inter-state drugs sale racket, the task force would be able to enquire into its various aspects, informed an official of the DCA.
