Maha FDA unearths cough syrup smuggling racket

MUMBAI,  2015: The State Food and Drug Administration (FDA) busted a thriving racket involved in the smuggling of codeine laced cough syrups to school children. On Monday, FDA inspectors seized nearly 14,500 bottle of cough syrups costing over Rs15lakhs from Kashimira, Thane.

The FDA worked on a tip-off that there was a group supplying cough syrups, often seen as a stepping stone to addiction, to school children. A team of inspectors from the drug regulator's intelligence unit started keeping a watch on accused Dalaram Chaudhary, who was tricked into supplying a few bottle to the FDA officials, who had posed as customers. A trap later was laid in Kashimira on Monday where Dalaram was caught with eight boxes of leading cough syrup brands, including Corex, Rexcof, Rancof, etc.

FDA commissioner Harshadeep Kamble said that the stock was likely to be sold in Mumbai as well as sent to other regions of the country. "As per the information we have gathered, the stock was meant to be supplied to north-eastern states and West Bengal, where it could be sold at three times the price," he said, adding that the department is certain that a bigger network is involved.

Investigations into the case have led the officials to another person Bharat Chaudhary, whose go down at Nala Sopara was being used to stack the bottles. The team of FDA officials led by OP Sadhwani and Kashimira police raided Bharat's godown and found 145 boxes full of cough syrup. 

Dalaram was arrested under sections 18A, 18C of Drug and Cosmetics Act and 328, 336, 269, 36 of IPC. Bharat however has been on a run and the police are looking out for him.