Money laundering case: Assets of Hygro Chemicals Pharmtek seized by ED

A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach Rs 1.93 crore-worth fixed deposits of Hygro Chemicals Pharmtek Pvt Ltd located in Medak district of the state, it said in a statement.

Hy-Gro came into existence in the early 1970s first as a trading company and then ventured into the manufacturing of bulk drugs as an associate company in 1980. 

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The company is said to be accused of "illegally manufacturing and dealing" in a scheduled drug identified as Dextro Propoxyphene Hydrochloride (DPP HCL).

Dextropropoxyphene  is indicated for the treatment of mild pain and also has antitussive (cough suppressant) and local anaesthetic effects.

"The ED launched a criminal probe against the company after studying a complaint filed by the Hyderabad office of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence", reports PTI.

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Hygro Chemicals Pharmtek Pvt Ltd had a licence from the Central Bureau of Narcotics, Gwalior, to manufacture DPP HCL but the company "misused" it and illegally despatched 6,450 kg of the drug to a partnership concern called J K Pharma Agencies, New Delhi, during 2004-2006, and they mis-declared the same as some other chemical, the ED said.

DPP HCL, it said, can be used as a raw material to make narcotic substances.

The drug was then illegally sold at the rate of Rs 3,000 per kg, and thus, the accused company generated proceeds of crime worth Rs 1,93,50,000, the ED said.

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