New Delhi [India], May 2 (ANI): Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah has said that, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is axing down drug cartels with ruthless aggression.

'Bharat is axing down drug cartels with ruthless aggression. The Amritsar Zonal Unit of the NCB axed a drug diversion cartel through a 4-month-long operation across four states, seizing drugs worth Rs 547 crore and arresting 15. It is a giant stride towards building a drug-free Bharat under the vision of PM Narendra Modi Ji. Congratulations to Team NCB,' Amit Shah posted on X.

In a major step towards the Government's zero tolerance approach against drugs under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has seized 1.36 crore psychotropic tablets from a distributor in Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. NCB has also seized 11,693 CBCS bottles and 2.9 kg of Tramadol powder from a manufacturer in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. The total value of seized drugs is around Rs. 547 crores.

In pursuance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Nasha Mukt Bharat, the Amritsar Zonal Unit of NCB has busted major networks involved in illegal diversion and distribution of pharmaceutical medicines for non-medical use across Punjab, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi.

Under the guidance of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah, a sustained intelligence-driven operation and a top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top approach to investigating cases from December 2024 to April 2025 led to significant seizures and arrests, exposing a complex nexus between manufacturers, stockists, and front operators.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the raids were conducted on April 20-21, 2025, in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi. The search in Uttarakhand resulted in the seizure of 11,693 CBCS bottles and 2.9 kg of Tramadol powder from J R Pharmaceuticals.

The search at the premises of key distributor, Embit Bio Medix, Himachal Pradesh, resulted in the seizure of 19,25,200 tablets, and the search at the premises of Aashi pharmaceutical, Bawana, Delhi, resulted in the seizure of 1.17 crore tablets of Tramadol and Alprazolam, indicating massive unauthorised possession and illegal distribution of pharmaceutical medicine. The ministry said the proprietor of Embit Bio Medix was arrested earlier while attempting to flee to Vietnam on 18th April at Indira Gandhi Airport, Delhi.

The investigation revealed that the proprietor of Embit Bio Medix, Himachal Pradesh, had previously operated in Delhi, where his drug license was cancelled in December 2022. Concealing this, he obtained a new license in Himachal Pradesh and also launched another firm in Delhi, registered under an associate's Aashi Pharmaceutical, it added.

The investigation started four months ago when a person impersonating a medical professional was intercepted at Amritsar with 2,280 Alprazolam and 1,220 Tramadol tablets.

Further investigation uncovered a local distribution chain, leading to several arrests and follow-up searches that resulted in the recovery of 21,400 more Tramadol tablets and 43,000 Alprazolam tablets.

In another case, in February 2025, a separate seizure of 5,000 Tramadol Hydrochloride (Trekm-100) tablets in Amritsar led investigators to a chain extending into Tarn Taran, Dehradun, and Manawala. The Ministry of Home Affairs stated that the source trail pointed toward the illegal supply of pharmaceutical medicines by individuals operating without valid licenses, supported by dummy medical setups.

The investigations in both cases revealed involvement of same pharmaceutical manufacturing company that is J R pharmaceutical based in Haridwar, Uttarakhand which led to suspicion and through investigation conducted so far, has disclosed large-scale diversion of pharmaceuticals medicine by M/s J R Pharmaceuticals, Haridwar and others.

The follow-up raids conducted in February 2025 at JR Pharmaceuticals led to seizures of 16,860 Tramadol tablets, 327 bottles of Codeine-based cough syrup, and 2.55 lakh loose Tramadol tablets (80.7 kg) hidden in drums. Further raids in the same month, based on information provided during interrogation, led to the seizure of 8,89,064 CBCS bottles held without valid documentation, purportedly for diversion.

Investigation further revealed that several front stockist firms were found to be fake or non-operational, and drugs were diverted using them. One such firm, Tiwari Medical Agency, Dehradun, was found upon verification to be a sweet/tailor shop, and the proprietor was found to be working as a maid. In contrast, other firms, Kavati Health Care Pvt Ltd, Dehradun, and Life Care Pharma, Kolkata, were non-existent at the declared address.

The mastermind behind the dummy stockist Tiwari Medical Agency was arrested, leading to the seizure of 1.24 lakh Alprazolam tablets from a roadside dhaba in Dehradun. The investigation revealed that he was getting the pharmaceutical drugs from other firms as well, the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

The NCB is actively coordinating with the GST Department, State Drug Controllers, Income Tax Authorities, CBN, and financial institutions to uncover the full extent of the drug diversion network.

The Investigation conducted so far has led to the cumulative seizure of over 1.42 crore Tramadol and Alprazolam tablets, 2.9 kg of tramadol powder, and 9,01,084 CBCS bottles (approx. 135 tons) and the arrest of 15 accused from 04 different states in the last four months. Leads about the involvement of others have also been revealed during the investigation, and more seizures are expected in the next few weeks.

The seizure exemplifies the NCB's commitment to dismantle drug networks successfully. To fight against drug trafficking, NCB seeks support of the citizens. Anyone can share information related to the sale of narcotics by calling the MANAS- National Narcotics Helpline Toll Free Number- 1933. (ANI)