Punjab Police have busted an inter-state network of illegal opioid manufacturing and supply, arresting twelve people and recovering large quantities of drugs. The operation was conducted following the arrest of a local drug peddler.
Punjab Police on Sunday claimed to have busted an inter-state network of illegal opioid manufacturing and supply from units running from pharmaceutical factories based in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, commissioner of police (CP), Amritsar, said.
The CP said the racket was busted following a month-long investigation into backward and forward linkages carried out by the Amritsar City Police after the arrest of a local drug peddler identified as Prince Kumar. Prince was arrested and 14,500 tramadol tablets were recovered from his possession.
Bhullar said that during questioning Prince revealed that he was supplying intoxicating tablets on the directions of Major Singh, who contacted him using a mobile phone from Goindwal Sahib Jail. The police recovered a mobile phone from the possession of Major Singh, who was brought on a production warrant. Further upon their disclosure Baljinder Singh, Akash Singh, Surjit Singh, Gurpreet Singh, all residents of Patti in Tarn Taran and Mohar Singh of Harike were arrested.
Gurpreet Singh and Major Singh further disclosed to police that they got their supplies from one Sachin Kumar of Kosi Kalan in district Mathura. Sachin owned Elichem Pharma, based in the Hapur district in Uttar Pradesh.
A team of CIA-1 under DCP (investigation) Harpreet Singh Mandher and ADCP CITY-3 Abhimanyu Rana arrested Sachin from UP. After the arrest, Sachin told the cops that in connivance with Yogesh Kumar Rinku of Kosi Kalan, who is an inmate in Mansa Jail, fake documents of Elichem Pharma were prepared and they were supplying intoxicating tablets in Punjab. The police also recovered a mobile phone from Yogesh Kumar, and he was also brought on a production warrant.
Yogesh and Sachin revealed that they were getting the supply of opioids from Gloss Pharmaceuticals based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Sachin met manufacturers Manish and Rekha in Delhi. They hatched a plan to illegally send the opioids to Punjab via Hapur, Uttar Pradesh. They forged fake documents of the wholesale unit in the name of Elichem Pharma. Manufacturers in connivance with Yogesh and Sachin sent Opioids to Hapur. From Hapur, the consignments were then sent to Akash in Agra, who further shipped the same to Amritsar.
A police team of CIA-1 Amritsar, in a joint operation with ATS, Gujarat, raided the Gloss Pharmaceutical in Ahmedabad and recovered 14,72,220 intoxicating tablets and capsules. Both the manufacturers were also arrested. Police have also arrested Akash from Agra and recovered 18,000 intoxicating tablets from his possession, said the officials. So far, police teams have arrested twelve persons in this case. A case FIR dated December 4 has already been registered under section 22C of the NDPS Act at Police Station D Div in Amritsar City.
