Surat : A medical store owner in Surat was arrested Wednesday for allegedly selling codeine cough syrup and Tramadol, Alprazolam tablets — categorised as sedative drugs — to customers without prescriptions.
According to personnel of the Surat city Special Operation Group (SOG) , some accused arrested for petty crimes were found to be addicted to codeine syrup, Tramadol and Alprazolam. On interrogation, the arrested persons disclosed that they bought the medicines from Pramukh Medical Store in Parvatgam area.
Acting on the information, SOG sleuths sent a dummy customer without doctor’s prescription to the medical store and purchased such tablets and cough syrups. Store owner Swarup Dewasi, who is a resident of Varachha road and native of Pali in Rajasthan, was taken into custody.
Police also seized 368 tablets of Alprazolam and 16 bottles of codeine cough syrup.
Surat city SOG inspector AP Chaudhary said, “Alprazoalm is used to treat anxiety disorder and panic disorder while codeine is used to treat mild and moderate pain. We have come across petty criminals addictive to these… The medical shop owner has been held and further probe is on.”