Ahmedabad's special ops seizes 5,050 bottles of Codeine syrup, books pharma firms

Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad Special Operations Group (SOG) has seized 5,050 bottles of Codeine Phosphate-based cough syrup and registered a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act against an alleged unlicensed supplier and a recipient company in Mizoram.

According to officials, the investigation began after the team received information that Codeine Phosphate-based cough syrup was allegedly being supplied to various states in North India by a company operating without a valid licence.

Speaking to the media, ACP, SOG, SS Ninama said that the investigation revealed that the company had dispatched consignments to a firm in Mizoram, which was also found to be operating without the required licence.


"The SOG team received information that Codeine Phosphate-based cough syrup was being delivered to various states in North India and that the companies involved were operating without a licence," Ninama said.

"During the investigation, it was discovered that the company had dispatched parcels to a company in Mizoram. Investigations revealed that the recipient company did not possess a valid licence. Consequently, a case has been registered against both the recipient company and the sender under the NDPS Act," he added.

Officials said that a total of 5,050 bottles of the syrup were seized during the operation. The seized bottles were packed in 34 cartons.

The Crime Branch is investigating the alleged illegal distribution network to determine how long the company had been operating, identify other persons involved and ascertain the extent of the alleged distribution across different states.

According to the SOG, the owners of the company have been identified as Hiren Kantilal Patel and Parsh Vora. However, officials are continuing to investigate the role of other individuals and entities allegedly connected with the supply chain.

The investigation also found that the recipient company in Mizoram did not possess the necessary licence to receive or deal in the medicines, prompting authorities to register a case against both the sender and recipient.

Officials said that further investigation is underway to trace the source of the medicines, identify the complete distribution network and establish the quantity of Codeine Phosphate-based syrup allegedly supplied to other states.

The case has been registered under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, and the Crime Branch is conducting further inquiries.