Maha: Codeine-based cough syrup worth Rs 35 lakh seized; two held

Mumbai: The Anti Narcotics Cell of Mumbai police has busted an interstate drug smuggling racket with the arrest of two persons and seizure of codeine-based cough syrup worth nearly Rs 35 lakh, an official said on Saturday. Cough syrups with an ingredient of codeine phosphate have an intoxicating effect on nerves and they are widely abused due to easy availability at chemist shops.

The official said they nabbed two people at Sion on Wednesday and recovered four boxes of codeine-based cough syrup worth Rs 2.85 lakh from them.

Investigation showed that one of them, a resident of Pali in Rajasthan, had brought 40 more cartons of the cough syrup from his state on his cancelled medical licence and stocked the consignment in a godown at Bhiwandi in the neighbouring Thane district.

The police then raided the Bhiwandi godown and seized the cough syrup worth Rs 31.65 lakh, taking the total value of the seizure to Rs 34.5 lakh, he said.

Both men, aged 38 years and 44 years, have been arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, he added.