Thane: 5 arrested with banned cough syrup stock worth Rs 31.75 lakh
Thane: Five persons have been arrested for illegally possessing a large quantity of bottles of two banned cough syrups worth Rs 31.75 lakh in Thane district of Maharashtra, an official said.
They were possessing it without the knowledge that the sale of these syrups was not allowed with a proper authorisation, police said.
These narcotic-laced cough syrups are often misused for intoxication, posing a serious public health hazard.
The crime branch sleuths police seized 17,640 bottles of the cough syrups, having codeine phosphate (a type of opiate) and other chemicals. They were stored in 147 boxes and were intended for illegal sale, he said.
“We are probing from where the accused obtained the stock and to whom they intended to sell it. Further arrests may follow as we uncover the larger supply chain,” the official said.
A case has been registered against the five persons, in the age group of 24 to 45 years, under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, he said.
Read also: Prohibited drugs worth over Rs 25 lakh seized; medical store owner, 2 others arrested
Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that drugs with an estimated value of Rs 1 crore had been seized from Jain's godown in Dawa Bazar, located at a distance of about 200 metres from Hanumanganj police station in Bhopal and three persons were arrested allegedly in this connection. The confiscated drugs include over 9 lakh alprazolam tablets and 5,240 bottles of cough syrup.
