Punjab police busts inter-state illegal pharma supply and manufacturing network

CHANDIGARH: In a major intelligence-based operation against Pharma Opioids, Special Task Force (STF) of Punjab Police has busted an interstate network of manufacturing illegal psychotropic substances and supply units running from a pharma factory based in Baddi of Himachal Pradesh, said Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Saturday.

The development came after the three-month-long meticulous investigations of backward and forward linkages carried out by the Special Task Force, Border Range, Amritsar into the arrest of two drug smugglers identified as Sukhwinder Singh alias Dhami of village Kot Muhammad Khan in Tarn Taran and Jaspreet Singh alias Jass of Govind Nagar in Amritsar, who were arrested after the recovery of 4.24 lakh narcotic tablets/capsules and Rs 1 lakh drug money from Beas in February this year.

During this entire operation spread across five states, the Police have arrested a total of seven drug smugglers/suppliers and made an effective recovery of 70.42 lakh Intoxicant Tablets/Capsules, 725.5 kg Intoxicant Tramadol Powder and Rs 2.37 lakh drug money. Five states include Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Divulging details, DGP Gaurav Yadav said that following the trail after the arrest of these two drug smugglers, Police teams led by SP STF Vishaljit Singh and DSP STF Vavinder Kumar have managed to trace and arrest the main kingpin of the racket identified as Alex Paliwal from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh after recovering 9.04 lakh Intoxicant Tablets/capsules and Rs 1.37 lakh drug money from his possession.

He said that following the revelations of accused Alex Paliwal, the operation was then extended to Himachal Pradesh, where Police teams in the presence of Drug Control Officers Sukhdeep Singh and Ramneek Singh have scrutinised Biogenetic Drug Private Limited and seized records showing that the company has manufactured over 20 crore Alprazolam tablets in just eight months. The records have also traced the supply chain to M/s Aster Pharma in Maharashtra, where further investigative measures led to the exposing Biogenetic Drug Private Limited’s sister pharma manufacturing company Smilex Pharmachem Drug Industries based in Baddi, he added.

The DGP said that the subsequent operation targeting Smilex Pharmachem Drug Industries yielded a substantial seizure of 47.32 lahks intoxicant capsules and 725.5 kg of Intoxicant Tramadol Powder— sufficient to manufacture 1.5 crore capsules. The records revealed that Smilex Pharmachem Drug Industries purchased 6500 Kg of intoxicant tramadol powder within a year.

He said that the concurrent investigations into transportation and distribution led to the apprehension of individuals including Intezar Salmani, Prince Salmani, Baljinder Singh, and Suba Singh unravelling the intricate web of interstate drug trafficking. Police teams have recovered another chunk of 9.80 lakh intoxicant tablets/capsules from a transportation vehicle near the Chandigarh Railway Station. Further investigations are on and more arrests are expected, he said.

A case FIR No 31 dated 20.02.2024 had been registered under sections 22-C, 25, 27-A and 29 of the NDPS Act at Police Station STF, SAS Nagar.

BOX: MODUS OPERANDI

To understand how the drugs entered Punjab, the investigating team discovered that those involved in manufacturing them had circumvented legal requirements and violated the law. Consequently, during distribution, the drugs didn’t reach their intended recipients but instead got diverted, eventually finding their way into Punjab.