Mumbai, Mar 29 (PTI) The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has busted an inter-state drug network by arresting seven persons from Maharashtra, Punjab and Gujarat, and also seized 3,195 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup (CBCS), officials said on Wednesday.
One of the accused is a physician based in Surat city of Gujarat.
The syndicate was actively involved in illicit diversion of certain prescription drugs which are covered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act), an official said.
Officials of the NCB Mumbai zonal unit had received specific information about active illegal sale of CBCS bottles along with other prescription drugs in Mumbai, Thane and adjoining areas, he said.
After working on the information, the NCB officials traced the network, which included a Bhiwandi (Thane district)-based person, who was procuring consignments of such illegally diverted prescription drugs and sold to street-level peddlers, said the official.
The NCB officials gathered information about his locations and the modus operandi. They also got details about a Gujarat-based person, who was supplying the consignments to the Bhiwandi-based accused, he said.
The NCB officials laid a trap at Bhiwandi and intercepted a vehicle carrying the CBCS consignment, he said.
During preliminary questioning, the documents shown by the members of the syndicate looked fake and upon search, 32 cartons containing 3,195 CBCS bottles were recovered, he said.
The NCB arrested both the prime accused along with other members of the syndicate. Among the prime accused is a Gujarat-based MD-Physician who has a medical facility in Surat, he said.
The physician had set up a firm for procurement of such drugs from manufacturing units based in North India, said the official. PTI DC RSY RSY
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