7.19 lakh tramadol tablets seized

CHANDIGARH: Barely three days before polling for state assembly elections, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) made the biggest ever seizure of tramadol in the state by recovering, 7.19 lakh tablets of the opioid-based painkiller from Hoshiarpur city. In addition, the bureau also seized around 18,000 capsules of tramadol, 52,400 tablets of alprazolam, and 8,400 tablets of chlordiazepoxide.The whole haul is worth more than Rs 38 lakh.
As tramadol is not covered under the NDPS Act, despite being a psychotropic medicine, a case was registered under the Food and Cosmetics Act by the local police. Authorities are investigating if the tablets were meant to be distributed to voters as bribe.
Talking about the action, NCB zonal director Kaustubh Sharma said that based on information received while inspecting retail medical stores, a wholesaler in Hoshiarpur city named Om Medical Traders was put under surveillance. During the surveillance, it was found that the firm stocks a lot of psychotropic medicines in a godown, which was not declared to the drug licensing authorities of the state government as is mandated under the rules. The premises were raided by NCB officials and Hoshiarpur drug inspector and a huge quantity of habit forming medicines were seized.
The state drug controller had issued a detailed order on January 16, giving fresh instructions to all district-level officials of the department and those dealing with these kind of drugs. The traders and retailers are required to maintain proper record and inform authorities about where and how much of such medicines are they stocking.