Ahmedabad: Crime branch’s Special Operations Group (SOG) has seized a consignment of 5,050 sealed bottles of cough syrup containing codeine phosphate, collectively valued at around Rs 59.4 lakh, from the delivery centre of General Post Office in Lal Darwaza on Saturday.According to police, the consignment was intercepted before it could be delivered to its intended destination in Mizoram. A case has been registered under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at DCB police station. Police are now investigating the source of the cough syrup, the company or persons who dispatched it and the intended recipient. The cops are trying to verify whether the consignment was ordered for pharmaceutical use or was being diverted for illegal distribution.Police said the consignment included 5,050 sealed bottles of cough syrup containing triprolidine hydrochloride and codeine phosphate. The total value of the seized stock was estimated at Rs 59.4 lakh.The FIR stated the investigating officers contacted joint director, Food and Drug Control, in Mizoram to find out about the pharmacies and establishments to verify the transactions. A communication from the authority in Mizoram stated that one pharmacy could not be traced at the address mentioned and suggested there might have been an error in the pharmacy name in the records. It requested verification of the details.The seizure comes amid increased scrutiny of codeine-based cough syrups, which are legally regulated medicines but can be misused because of their narcotic properties.
