LUCKNOW Following back-to-back seizures of counterfeit and illegally stored medicines in recent months, Uttar Pradesh has tightened its drug enforcement with new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) targeting dummy licence holders and proxy owners. Officials will now verify who actually runs a drug business, where medicines are stored and how transactions are made, tracing suspicious supplies from retailers to manufacturers.
According to Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) commissioner Roshan Jacob, the SOPs require officials to verify the licence holder, premises, and the person actually running the business, along with billing records, bank transactions, GST details and the medicine supply chain.
People previously involved in the illegal drug trade will not be allowed to return to the business by obtaining licences in the names of spouses, parents, siblings, other relatives, or dummy persons.
Before issuing a wholesale drug licence, licensing authorities and drug inspectors will conduct detailed verification of the applicant and premises. Licences will not be issued to establishments operating from residential premises.
If another person is found effectively operating the business, action for suspension or cancellation of the licence and prosecution will follow.
The new enforcement regime will also target medicines stored at undisclosed locations, including illegal basements, residential houses and rented rooms outside licensed premises.
{{/usCountry}}The new enforcement regime will also target medicines stored at undisclosed locations, including illegal basements, residential houses and rented rooms outside licensed premises.
{{/usCountry}}Inspectors will pay special attention to fast-moving and high-value medicines, including drugs for diabetes, hypertension, antibiotics, cancer and pain management. The SOPs also flag fake billing, repeated purchases and returns between the same firms, unusually low-price sales and cross-billing among a small group of sellers.
Officials will scrutinise drug-billing records for negative stock, backdated bills, deleted data, duplicate accounts and manipulation of physical stock records.
The guidelines also prescribe action against the diversion of medicines meant for government hospitals, ESI facilities and defence supplies, as well as physician samples and expired medicines, into the commercial market.
Cold-chain medicines, including insulin and vaccines, will also be checked for prescribed storage conditions of 2°C to 8°C.
Bank transactions, CCTV footage, e-way bills, transport records and digital billing data will be secured during raids to establish the movement of medicines.
Cases involving NDPS-category medicines, codeine syrups and painkillers will face strict action. Where organised illegal drug trading is established, FIRs can be registered under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, the BNS and the NDPS Act.
In serious cases, or when counterfeit or spurious drugs are confirmed, the licence can be suspended or cancelled and the stock seized. The cancellation order will have to be served on the licence holder within one working day, after which the firm cannot purchase or sell medicines.