E-Paper
Drug diversion in Himachal’s pharma hub: Anti-narcotics agencies step up vigil
Himachal Pradesh Police have come across cases where pharmaceutical units in Solan and Sirmaur districts supplied pharma opioids for non-medicinal use by generating fake bills
After recent cases of pharmaceutical units diversifying into the production of synthetic drugs, particularly opioids, in Asia’s largest bulk drug manufacturing hub of Baddi and Batoriwala in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh, anti-narcotics agencies have stepped up vigil in North India.
There are reports that stimulant drugs used to prepare higher class of narcotics are also finding their way into India from across the border.
Police have come across cases where pharmaceutical units in Solan and Sirmaur districts supplied pharma opioids, mainly Tramadol tablets, by generating fake bills. Tramadol is a synthetic opioid pain medication of the Benzenoid class that is used to treat moderate to severe pain.
Police field units in Solan, Sirmaur
Confirming the development, state additional director general of police, crime investigation department, Satinder Pal Singh said: “There have been cases of drugs being diverted for non-medicinal use in Himachal Pradesh. We are evolving a mechanism to curb this diversion of drugs.”
The Himachal Pradesh Police have proposed to set up field units in pharmaceutical industries in Baddi and Barotiwala in Solan district and Kala Amb in Sirmaur district.
Of the 652 pharmaceutical units in Himachal Pradesh, 139 factories have the licence to produce pharma-opioids and psychotropic substances listed in the schedule of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Transnational organised crime
The trafficking of pharmaceutical opioids for non-medical purposes has its links to transnational organised criminals, mainly in African countries. Some of them were found misusing the licence and selling pharmaceutical products in the illegal market.
Last year, the police booked Baddi-based M/s Zannet Pharmaceuticals after the firm generated fake bills in the name of a Mandi-based medical store, while the consignments of Tramadol and Alprozopam were sold in the black market in neighbouring Punjab.
The police arrested the owner and the manager of the firm, while one person is still absconding. The firm had clandestinely sold 53 lakh capsules, including 38 lakh Tramadol tablets, in Punjab. The consignment could not be recovered.
“We are investigating the case. So far it has only come to fore that the firm generated fake bills to supply Tramadol in the market,” said Dinesh Sharma, the deputy superintendent of police of the State Narcotics Crime Control Unit. “NDPS scheduled drugs were sent to Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and other states,” he said.
Fake marketing firms
Last year, the Himachal Pradesh Police conducted a joint operation with Punjab Police and seized 30.16 lakh intoxicant tablets, including 12.45 lakh Tramadol capsules, 7.72 lakh Tramadol tablets, and 9.99 lakh Alprax (Alprazolam) tablets worth ₹15 crore from Unique Formulations in Paonta Sahib town in Sirmaur district. Police investigation found that Unique Formulations’ Delhi-based marketing company, PB Pharmaceuticals, was fake and non-existent. The firm printed the names of fake marketing companies on the labels for diverting pharma-opioids to the illegal market.
A case was registered against Orison Pharma International, Kala Amb, last year after 30.1 lakh tablets and 226kg of Tramadol tablets and 226kg of Tramadol active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) worth ₹3 crore. The pharma unit used manufactured tablets containing Tramadol and sold it to a company in Ahmedabad in Gujarat.
Notices issued, licences suspended
“We keep conducting inspections of pharmaceutical companies. The state drug controlling authority along with other agencies has detected cases of diversion of drugs,” admits state drug controller Navneet Marwah.
Last year, 67 inspections were conducted at 15 manufacturing units, nine wholesalers and 43 retailers. The drug controlling authority issued six show-cause notices, while it cancelled a licence and suspended seven of them.
Police investigation shows that Orison Pharma did not have any agreement with this firm as per the requirement under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and its transactions were found to be suspicious.
After it received a tip-off from Interpol in another case, the Himachal Pradesh Police registered a case against Laborate Pharmaceuticals in Paonta Sahib for the illegal export of 1.75 crore Tramadol tablets worth ₹5 crore (about ₹100 crore in the illegal market) to Chad in Africa. The case is being investigated by Interpol and the Narcotics Control Bureau.
In 2019, a Paonta Sahib-based pharma company was shut down by the narcotics cell for unaccounted stock of 47,000 Tramadol tablets and 10,000 Codeine cough syrups.
