Yogi government has started a statewide campaign against drugs. Till now, codeine containing medicines worth lakhs have been seized, 16 FIRs registered and 6 arrests made. Sale stopped at 25 medical stores, raids continue in many districts.
Lucknow. Yogi government has started a big campaign against illegal drug trade in Uttar Pradesh. On the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department (FSDA) has taken strict action against illegal sale, storage and distribution of codeine cough syrup and narcotic medicines across the state. In this special campaign, illegal medicines worth lakhs have been seized so far, 16 FIRs have been registered and 6 people have been arrested.
Intensive investigation continues on suspicious medical stores
Commissioner Dr. Roshan Jacob said that under the instructions of the Chief Minister, raids have been conducted on 115 establishments so far. Of these, medicines worth lakhs were seized and 115 samples have been sent for testing. Besides, 16 FIRs have been registered and 6 arrests have been made. After receiving suspicious records, the sale of codeine syrup and narcotic medicines has been banned at 25 medical stores. The department has appealed to the general public that anyone can give information about illegal drug trade on WhatsApp number 8756128434.
Large scale action under NDPS Act
FSDA team has taken action in many districts under NDPS Act.
- Lucknow: Phensypik T Syrup worth ₹3 lakh seized from illegal warehouse on October 11; Deepak Manwani arrested.
- Bahraich: Medicines worth ₹ 30 thousand seized from Royal Pharma and Mamta Medical Agency on 13 October; Two arrested.
- Lakhimpur Kheri: Tramadol Capsules worth ₹68 lakh recovered from the house of Piyush Medical Agency owner on October 14; Saroj Kumar Mishra arrested.
- Lakhimpur Kheri: 1200 bottles of codeine syrup worth ₹2 lakh seized from New Roy Medical Agency on November 4; One arrested.
Apart from this, ARPIK and IDHIKA Lifesciences Pvt. Ltd. Records have been seized by raiding the depot.
Strict action against illegal billing under BNS Act
The Department of Drug Administration has registered cases against medical stores indulging in illegal billing under sections of BNS (Indian Justice Code).
- Sitapur: Case registered against Shivam Kumar, director of Naimish Medical Store, under section 318 (1), 335.
- Rae Bareli: Action against the owner of Ajay Pharma under sections 318(2), 336(3), 340(2).
- Lucknow and Sultanpur: Illegal sales cases against Shri Shyam Pharma and Vinod Pharma.
- Unnao: Case registered against Ambika Healthcare for not showing bills for syrup worth more than ₹1 lakh.
- Kanpur Nagar: Case filed against Maa Durga Pharma for not submitting the bill for Rs 40,000 syrup.
Apart from this, action has also been taken against DMC Company, Sisodiya Medicine House, AS Healthcare, RS Healthcare, Balaji Medical Store and Ultra Fine Chemical in districts like Banda, Kanpur, Jalaun etc.
Ban on sales at 25 medical stores
Under Section 22(1)(d) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, the state government has banned the sale of codeine and narcotic drugs at 25 medical stores. These stores include Lucknow, Kanpur Nagar, Rae Bareli, Sitapur, Muzaffarnagar, Prayagraj, Varanasi and Kaushambi districts. Apart from this, an intensive campaign is going on to stop the illegal movement of drugs in the districts bordering Nepal, Haryana, Delhi and Punjab.