Ghaziabad: Three men were arrested early on Tuesday for allegedly smuggling codeine-based cough syrup. Police claimed the accused were working for a Delhi-based healthcare firm owner and had diverted 310 cartons of Wiscorex, manufactured by a pharmaceutical firm in Himachal Pradesh and meant to be delivered to a healthcare centre in southwest Delhi, to a warehouse in Kasana Crane Compound. They were allegedly planning to illegally smuggle the cough syrup vials to Bihar and sell them there at a higher rate.At least 49,600 vials of Wincerex syrup, containing codeine — an opioid cough suppressant that is a prescription-only medication as it is widely misused as an intoxicant — worth around Rs 8,58,000 were recovered from Sadhya Transport Company’s warehouse.Sahibabad ACP Amit Saxena said the three men, Virendra (48) of Sahibabad, Shiv Shankar (29) of Bihar and Rajesh Kumar (35) of Jharkhand, were arrested near the crane compound during a checking drive following a tip-off. A joint team of the SWAT, food safety and drug administration (FSDA), and units from Sahibabad police station and trans-Hindon Zone surveillance carried out the arrests under Operation Prahar.“On questioning, the accused stated that the syrup ordered by a healthcare centre in southwest Delhi, from Three B Healthcare Limited, Himachal Pradesh, was instead stored illegally at Kasana crane compound. They sent the codeine-based cough syrup to Bihar three to four times a month, hidden with other goods in unmarked cartons. They named the healthcare firm’s owner Purohit Gupta alias Bhola as the main accused,” Saxena said.The accused have been charged under BNS sections 318(4) (cheating), 319(2) (cheating by personation), 3(5) (criminal acts done by several persons) and relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. Gupta remains on the run.In Nov last year, over 15.7 lakh vials of prohibited cough syrup, including Eskuf, Phensedyl and Tapentadol, were seized from four trucks at a Delhi-Meerut Road warehouse. Eight persons were arrested in the raid on Machhli Godown near Ghookna Mor. The trucks were allegedly booked to carry limestone from Indore to Guwahati, but were used to transport 15,73,500 vials in 1,150 cartons hidden in gunny bags. The seized material is valued at around Rs 3.4 crore.
