Latest news with #Nitrazepam
Hindustan Times
27-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
HC grants bail to chemists accused of illegally transporting hypnotic drug
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court (HC) recently granted bail to two licensed chemists who were arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Mumbai, in connection with the alleged illegal transport of Nitrazepam tablets—a prescription medication used to treat insomnia and a powerful hypnotic drug which possesses strong sedative and skeletal muscle relaxant properties. HC grants bail to chemists accused of illegally transporting hypnotic drug Justice NR Borkar, hearing the bail pleas, noted that both accused were licensed chemists and had prima facie obtained the tablets through legal means. The NCB had arrested the duo in May 2023 during a crackdown on an alleged interstate drug syndicate operating out of Pune. Officials had seized approximately 5,900 Nitrazepam tablets during the raid. The chemists were accused of sourcing the drug from Bihar and supplying it illegally in Pune, treating it as a psychotropic substance. The prosecution argued that there was no documentation to prove that the seized tablets had been procured through legitimate channels. It also claimed to possess incriminating material—including WhatsApp chats, call data records (CDRs), and bank transactions—linking the accused to the drug syndicate. However, advocates Tarak Sayed and Anish Pereira, representing one of the accused, Rajesh Changude, told the court that Changude was suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis and was currently under medical treatment. They also pointed out that he had been in custody for nearly two years, even as the trial had yet to begin, with charges still not framed. The defence further argued that the Nitrazepam tablets were being sold to a well-known manufacturer of generic medicines, who in turn distributed them through authorised channels. In granting bail, the court observed that while the chemists had been arrested for allegedly selling the drug illegally, no action appeared to have been taken against the wider distribution network that ultimately received the tablets. This gap in the investigation, the court implied, weakened the case against the accused.
India Gazette
27-05-2025
- India Gazette
Delhi Police bust interstate pharma drug cartel, 5 arrested with tramadol, alprazolam worth over Rs 5 lakh
New Delhi [India], May 27 (ANI): In a series of operations across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh, Delhi's Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) busted an interstate pharmaceutical drug cartel, arresting five alleged traffickers and seizing Alprazolam, Nitrazepam tablets, and Tramadol capsules worth over Rs 5 lakh. According to an official statement, the operation began with the arrest of 20-year-old Vikas, from whom 28 boxes of capsules containing Dicyclomine HCI and Tramadol HCI (totalling 336 grams and 6,720 capsules) were recovered. Another accused, Sudhir (43), a medical store owner, was arrested following a raid in the presence of Sanjay Kumar, Drug Inspector from the Department of Drug Control, Delhi. During the search, officials recovered 505 Alprazolam (0.5 mg) tablets and 664 Tramadol (50 mg) capsules from Sudhir's medical store. The police identified the source of the contraband from Sunil Kumar Bharadwaj, calling him a key figure in a pharmaceutical trafficking operation. 'As part of these ongoing efforts, sustained attempts were made to apprehend the source of the contraband, namely Sunil Kumar Bhardwaj, a key figure and mastermind in the pharmaceutical trafficking & his other accomplices,' the statement said. According to the police, the accused persons are partners in the medical store, with Vikas procuring medicines on March 8 from the house of Sunil, adding, 'A raid was conducted at the instance of the accused at the address of Sunil who was found absconding and NBW was issued against him by the Court on April 1, who was then arrested on April 5. 'He disclosed that he has been working with the accused Sudhir for 6-7 years. Both the medical stores are being run by them in partnership,' the statement read. The accused, Sunil, disclosed that the recovered contraband was purchased from one Jeetu during the investigation on April 7, at the instance of the accused. A raid was conducted at the house of the source/accused Ajeet in Sangam Vihar, Delhi, but he was not found there with his phone switched off. In the presence of police staff and family members, two white plastic sacks containing 18000 tablets of tramadol (1.8 Kg) & 7400 tablets of Nitrazepam Tablets IP 10 mg (Elza-10) were recovered from Ajeet's ground-floor room. On April 8, the accused person Ajeet, 32, was apprehended from the Tilak Marg, New Delhi area. After being interrogated in detail, he was arrested in this case. During the search, cash worth Rs 69,500 was also recovered from him. 'During interrogation, he disclosed that he had procured the recovered tramadol tablets and capsules from one Pandey (Shivam Medicos, Gorakhpur, UP). He procured the recovered tablets, Nitrazepam, from one Vijay Goel, one year ago,' the statement read. It has also been disclosed that the above-mentioned Vijay Goel is in Agra jail in an NDPS case. The accused was taken to Gorakhpur, UP, during Police Remand, but the source of the case, Ambar Agrahari, could not be traced in Gorakhpur. However, on April 13, the alleged source of contraband, Ambar Agrahari, 43, was arrested from a hotel in Delhi, and Rs 1,16,000 was recovered from him. Police officials said that Ambar disclosed that he is running this cartel with the help of his partner, Surender Nath Pandey, the proprietor of two medical stores. 'They used to purchase these pharmaceutical drugs like Tramadol, Alprazolam, etc. through bills from a supplier situated in Gorakhpur, UP, and in order to earn huge money, further used to sell in Delhi through Ajeet Kumar at high prices,' the statement added. Police officials also found that the medicines were in Gorakhpur by the Pharmaceutical Companies. (ANI)
