Five of gang held for selling sedatives to youths

VIJAYAWADA: Sleuths of the Commissioners’ Task Force (CTF) on Sunday arrested a gang of five, including a woman, for selling sedatives to students, youths and daily wagers without any doctors’ prescriptions.

According to Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) G Rajiv Kumar, the accused Viswaraoop Barik (36), Tangilla Hari Kiran (39), Kandukutla Nagamani (60), Pilla Mahesh (31) and Paidi Deepak (36) formed a gang and sold sedative Fortwin 30 mg Injection -- which is a synthetically prepared narcotic used as a pre-anesthetic and also for treatment of moderate to severe pain -- to youngsters in the city. 

During interrogation, the prime accused, Barik, admitted to the crime and told police that he and his friend Hari Kiran purchased the drug from other places and sold with assistance from the other three accused at Arundalpet, Chittinagar and Old Rajarajeswararao Pet. 

While the actual cost of Fortwin 30 mg Injection is `5.30, each piece of the narcotic was sold to Nagamani at `100, who supplied them to her customers by keeping a profit of another `200 for herself.  “Purchasing and selling sedatives without a doctor’s prescription is an offense. We are collecting the details of customers to whom the sedative was sold,” the ACP added.  

A case under the NDPS Act was registered and the accused were handed over to the Suryaraopet police.