Ludhiana: 49,000 tramadol tablets seized from medical store; owner arrested

Moti Nagar police registered a case under Sections 22, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act on the complaint of Drug Control Inspector, Ludhiana Zone-3, Navdeep Singh Sandhu

The drug control department, with the assistance of Ludhiana police, seized 49,000 tramadol tablets worth ₹9.31 lakh from a medical store in the Moti Nagar area and arrested its owner for allegedly stocking the drug without the required authorisation.

The store owner, Pawan Kumar of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Colony, was arrested following the seizure, police said. (HT File)

The store owner, Pawan Kumar of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Colony, was arrested following the seizure, police said.

Moti Nagar police registered a case under Sections 22, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act on the complaint of Drug Control Inspector, Ludhiana Zone-3, Navdeep Singh Sandhu.

Sandhu said officials, acting on specific information, inspected the medical store in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar in the presence of Kumar and recovered the tablets. The team also found that the MRP, expiry dates and batch numbers had allegedly been erased from the stock.

The officials found no purchase records for the tablets and Kumar allegedly did not have permission to stock tramadol, Sandhu said.

The drug control department permits certain hospitals and pharmacies located around them to stock and sell tramadol subject to prescribed conditions.

Officials said the recovery of such a large quantity from a medical store without the required authorisation raised concerns.

Investigating officer ASI Ajit Kumar said Kumar possessed a licence to operate the medical store but did not have permission to stock tramadol.

During preliminary questioning, Kumar allegedly told police that another man used to visit his shop and supply him with the tablets.

Police are now trying to identify the alleged supplier and establish the source of the drug.

The seized stock was handed over to Moti Nagar police for further investigation.