Rs10b smuggled Indian drug haul seized
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistani authorities have seized a huge quantity of smuggled Indian-origin Tramadol, a highly addictive drug, worth Rs10 billion, suspecting the involvement of a cross-border smuggling network.
The Collectorate of Customs Enforcement Karachi seized the smuggled high-dosage drug, according to the Customs officials who are privy to the details of the operation that was carried out on February 20th.
Tramadol is regulated by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) and is a high dosage highly addictive opioid, the laboratory report has confirmed.
The drug can be bought in Pakistan on doctoAr’s prescription. But two weeks ago, the DRAP had considered a proposal to declare it as a “controlled substance” under the Control of Narcotics Substance Act of 1997 to limit its use as an opioid addictive drug.
The Pakistan Customs has declared the seizure as one of the largest pharmaceutical operations in which it recovered 21.8 million tablets and 7,000 capsules of unregistered Tramadol. The Custom officials said that it could be the largest ever seizure in South Asia.
The recovered quantity requires a large container for transportation. Last year, the Mumbai Customs seized 6.8 million tablets worth Indian Rs1.1 billion. The opioid is not widely used in Pakistan and its major markets are in the Middle East and Africa. However, the authorities have apprehensions that the drug can be used by anti-state elements as its consumers can stay awake for hours.
The Customs officials said that the estimated market value of the drugs is Rs10 billion. Collector Customs Moinuddin Ahmad Wani’s team conducted the operation on February 20th in Karachi.
The preliminary investigations revealed that some of the smuggled drugs were also mis-declared as vaccines. The Customs officials found some packaging material from the raid site, carrying the mark of ‘Expanded Programme on Immunisation’. The authorities suspected that some of the drugs might have been smuggled under the garb of the vaccine immunisation programme due to the possibility of the involvement of the clearing agents.
The seized drugs were packed in cartons, many of which bore markings indicating their origin from India. A detailed examination revealed multiple high-dosage variants of Tramadol, including Tamral, Royal, TramaKing Yellow 225mg, TramaKing Black 225mg and 250mg, and New Tramadol.
The absence of DRAP registration numbers on the seized products suggests that they were either illegally imported or locally manufactured using smuggled active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIS), according to the authorities.
An FIR has been lodged, and legal proceedings have been initiated against those involved in the smuggling of the seized drugs. The Customs has so far traced a chemist and a pharmaceutical company that might have been part of the cross-border smuggling network.
The goods have been taken into custody under Section 168 of the Customs Act, 1969, and a notice under Section 171 has been issued. Additionally, the warehouse guard was apprehended during the raid, and further arrests are expected as the investigation continues, said the authorities.
The Collectorate of Customs Enforcement said that it dismantled the network involved in the illegal trade of unregistered and hazardous pharmaceuticals. The raid had been conducted on an abandoned warehouse in the Korangi Industrial Area during the night of February 20th and 21st.
The officials said that the samples of the seized consignment were sent to the Central Drug Laboratory (CDL) for testing, which confirmed the presence of the API, Tramadol Hydrochloride.
The development also came on the heels of busting a smuggling network by an intelligence agency a few weeks ago, which comprised 78 Customs officials and smugglers involved in the smuggling of non-customs paid goods from Quetta to Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Lahore, and Rawalpindi.
