NCB busts illegal drug supply chain in Kolkata, 4 held – The Indian Express

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) busted an illegal drug supply chain in Kolkata and seized psychotropic substances after a three-day operation. Four persons have so far been arrested in connection with the case, the NCB said.
According to the NCB, it received a complaint regarding the retail sale of psychotropic and narcotic substances to local addicts. It was alleged that Minagur Rahaman, the owner of a premise called T.S Agency, which is used as a godown or storage space for a shop in Kolkata, was involved in the retail sale of psychotropic substances.
Acting on the complaint, an NCB team raided the godown and seized large quantities of drugs and psychotropic substances in the form of tablets, injections, cough syrups and capsules.
“M Rahaman (the retailer) used to purchase drugs illegaly from Pintu (a middleman). This was done for further retailing purposes to local addicts who frequently visited his store. Pintu identified his supplier as Tapas Roy, an employee of JK Pharma, a wholesaler of NRx drugs at Burrabazar in central Kolkata. Roy used to purchase supplies from Mahesh Parikh, the owner of JK Pharma,” an officer from the NCB’s Kolkata unit said.
“During a scrutiny of stock at JK Pharma NRX, Parekh was unable to provide the sale and purchase records and disclosed that he and Roy had sold the seized drug to Pintu in lieu of cash without any invoice,” the officer added.

According to the NCB, one of the seized drugs, Buprenorphine, is used to treat addiction/dependence to opioids while another seized substance, Diazepam, is used to relieve anxiety and control agitation. Pentazocine, another drug that was also seized, is used to relieve moderate to severe pain.
“All seized drugs are injected separately or in combination with other drugs to treat addictions. Further investigation is underway,” added another NCB official.
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