3 Men From Tamil Nadu Get 10 Years In Assam For Smuggling Phensedyl

GUWAHATI, 16 MAY 2018: Three men from Tamil Nadu have been sentenced to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment in Assam for smuggling Phensedyl, a banned cough syrup with high codeine content.

Officials of the State’s Bureau of Investigation for Economic Offences (BIEO) on Tuesday said the trio – Mohammed Rafi, 42, A.S. Bakrudeen, 39, and H. Fazzalu Ahmed, all from Rasipuram in TN’s Namakkal district – were in August 2016 caught with 15,000 plastic bottles of Phensedyl in a truck carrying rubber products destined for Tripura.

Phensedyl and other banned cough syrups with high codeine content are usually smuggled via Tripura to Bangladesh where they are used as intoxicants.

“A team led by BIEO inspector Binay Kalita followed intelligence inputs to apprehend the truck on the highway near Guwahati. Samples of the seized cough syrup were sent for forensic test after a case was filed against the trio on August 9, 2016,” Shyamal Prasad Saikia, BIEO’s superintendent of police, said on Tuesday.

Lab tests found each 100 ml bottle of Phensedyl contained 185.6 mg of codeine phosphate instead of the normal 10 mg. The chemical, drug experts of BIEO said, gives a kick, but such high content is very injurious to health.

A local court, Mr. Saikia said, had a few days ago sentenced each of the three to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment after finding them guilty under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. They were also fined Rs. 100,000 each with another six months in prison in case of default.The Hindu