Abbott booked for smuggling narcotic cough syrup to Bangladesh

Crime Investigation Department (CID) has registered a case against Abbott Health Care Pvt Ltd and their associates for smuggling Rs 57.6 crore worth cough syrup containing narcotic components into Bangladesh using fake bills.

Based on an alert by customs sleuths based in Shillong six months ago, the Drugs Control Administration (DCA), Telangana, launched a probe after 5,100 bottles of Phensedyl cough syrup were seized by the customs sleuths while being smuggled into Bangladesh. The batch numbers on the seized cough syrup bottles indicated that they were supposed to be marketed in Nizamabad.

According to director of DCA, Telangana, Akun Sabharwal, Phensedyl syrup contains the narcotic compound codeine (isolated from opium) and it was being used for substance abuse in Bangladesh, where sale of alcohol is prohibited. Explaining how the fraud was executed, the DCA chief said: "Abbott Health Care Pvt Ltd transports stocks of Phensedyl from their Baddi plant in Himachal Pradesh to its C&F depot at Uppal. The depot invoiced the stocks to specific distributors recruited by the state marketing managers and their subordinates. These 'retailers' were billed large quantities of the stock, but investigation revealed that most of these 'retailers' do not exist and some, who were there, have no idea of the activity," Sabharwal said.

According to the DCA chief, the stock was actually delivered to certain individuals through DLS Transport, Nacharam, who pooled the stocks and sent them by train from Secunderabad to Kolkata.

"The manufacturer, in collusion with their C&F agent and certain pharmaceutical dealers, had diverted the drug from Telangana and AP market to Kolkata, and from there to places across the border. This has been done by falsification of records. As per the probe, we have realised that approximately Rs 57.6 crore worth syrup was diverted this way to make illegal gains," Sabharwal said.

The DCA registered nine cases against Abbott health Care Pvt Ltd and others. As they have no power to book cases under the NDPS Act or arrest the accused, the DCA has lodged a complaint with the CID, Telangana. Based on the details submitted by DCA, the CID sleuths registered a case under sections 8, 21, 22 & 29 of the NDPS Act and sections 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on Monday.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Pharma-major-booked-for-smuggling-narco-cough-syrup/articleshow/47607152.cms