CUTTACK: The Directorate of Drug Control and the Excise department officials have seized huge quantity of codeine phosphate-laced cough syrup and medicines and arrested two persons in this connection during late night raids at Sumandi and Arada villages near Sankataras within Cuttack Sadar police limits on Wednesday.
Jayram Sahoo (42), the proprietor of Krishna Medicine store at Sumandi, and his associate Prafulla Jena (49) of Arada were arrested under section 21 (c) of the NDPS Act, 1985.
At least 92 100 ml bottles of sough syrup were seized from Jayram’s medicine store. Similarly, 676 bottles of Astorex cough syrup along with 32 varieties of medicines including antibiotics and painkillers were seized from the house of Prafulla.
“With triprolidine hydrochloride and codeine phosphate composition, the antitussive Astorex cough syrup manufactured by Crest Lifesciences Private Limited in Himachal Pradesh is considered as a narcotic drug. As it has abusable tendency and it comes under schedule H1 drug. Astorex syrup has a good therapeutic value for dry cough and is mostly used to treat geriatric patients. However, both the accused persons illegally purchased and sold the cough syrup for sedative purpose,” said assistant drugs controller, Cuttack circle-1 Dharmadev Puhan.
The seized cough syrup bottles worth around Rs 1.45 lakh were procured without any invoice. A letter will be issued to Crest Lifesciences Pvt Ltd to ascertain its authorised distributor in Odisha for further investigation, said Puhan.
The licensed medicine store of Jayram has been sealed. Further investigation is underway to ascertain the source from where the accused procured the drugs without any authorisation, he added.