Gonda (UP), Jul 19 (PTI) Fake and psychotropic medicines worth an estimated Rs 1.13 crore have been seized during a three-day joint operation by the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) and police in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district, officials said on Sunday.
One person has been arrested in connection with the case, while the alleged kingpin is absconding, they said.
Chief Development Officer Dayanand Prasad said the operation was carried out from July 16 to 18 following a confidential tip-off received from the FSDA headquarters in Lucknow.
Drug inspectors from nine districts, along with local police, searched three illegally operated medicine warehouses in Bariyar Purwa, Sonar Gali and Badgaon.
The team first inspected the premises of Aman Pharmaceuticals at Jaynagara on the Gonda-Balrampur road, but the firm was not found functioning at its registered address, Prasad said.
During the inquiry, the team reached the residence of the firm’s proprietor, Aman Kasaudhan, where his brother, Shivam Kasaudhan, allegedly admitted that they were running the medicine business without a valid drug licence from a warehouse in Bariyar Purwa.
Further investigation led to the discovery of two more illegal warehouses, he said.
The officials said the operators failed to produce purchase invoices, stock registers or any statutory documents related to the procurement and sale of medicines during the raids, following which all three warehouses were sealed.
The seized stock included Tramadol injections, Alprazolam tablets, Codeine Phosphate syrup and a large quantity of other allopathic medicines.
The estimated market value of the seized drugs is around Rs 1.13 crore, the officer said.
Nineteen drug samples have been collected and sent to a government laboratory for analysis.
Further legal action under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, will be initiated after the test reports are received, he said.
Police have arrested Shivam Kasaudhan, while the main accused, Aman Kasaudhan, remains at large.
An FIR has been registered at Kotwali Nagar police station under Sections 8 and 21 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. PTI COR ABN NB NB
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