Illegal sale of sedative medicines on rise

Aurangabad, June 18:

In a shocking revelation, it has been found that the medicine shopkeepers purchase sedative medicines used for addictions from the black market and sold illegally to the addicts. Based on the information, narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances (NDPS) cell raided the medicine shops and the suppliers and seized sedative pills and bottles amounting to Rs 3.37 lakh from them, informed crime branch PI Gautam Patare.

NDPS cell API Mohsin Syed received information that a hardcore criminal is coming to the Waluj area to purchase sedative pills on Friday. Accordingly, the police team laid a trap and arrested Tarasingh Tak (Gevrai Tanda) while purchasing pills from Shiv Medical. In all, 248 Alprazolam pills were found with him. When the medical store owner Shivprasad Changhate (Mehendipur, Gangapur) was inquired, in all, 75 Alprazolam tablets and 8 Gastropro kits were found with him. He had no bills for these medicines and he told that he purchased them from supplier Mahesh Sonyabapu Unawane (Lasur Station), who works as a salesman with Mahavir Medical Agency. In all 1725 sedative pills were found with Unawane along with 220 abortive kits and 3,712 contraceptive and sexual stimulation pills. He could not provide the bills for these medicines. When contacted, Mahavir Agency, they told that they had no connection with it.

A case has been registered against Tak, Changhate, and Unawane with Waluj police station based on the complaint lodged by drug inspector Anjali Mitkar.

The police action was executed under the guidance of CP Dr Nikhil Gupta, PI Gautam Patare by API Mohsin Syed, ASI Nandkumar Bhandare, constabulary staff Syed Shakeel, Prakash Gaikwad, Anand Wahul, Prajakta Waghmare, Datta Dabhalkar, drug inspector Baliram Marewad, Anjali Mitkar and others.

Tak informed that he had purchased medicines from Shiv Medical, Lanji Road and Tanuja Medical, Lanji Road and Life Line Medical in Pandharpur. A raid was conducted with Life Line Medical, but nothing was found there and Tanuja Medical was closed.

Tak is a hardcore criminal on police record and came out of the prison, a few days back. Shivprasad Changhate and Mahesh Unawane are the pharmacists, the police informed.