Special drive carried out in Jammu to check illegal supply of psychotropic drugs

JAMMU: To prevent illegal supply of addictive synthetic drugs, a special team of drug controllers on Saturday conducted surprise checks at godowns of various courier service providers in Jammu, officials said.

Officials said the state Drugs And Food Control Organisation sleuths also cross-checked whether the pharmaceutical consignments were being transported to Jammu and Kashmir as per the rules.

They said drugs worth Rs 90,000 that were being transported in contravention of the rules were seized on the spot. Notices have also been served to the defaulters and licenses of a couple of firms have been cancelled.

The officials said representatives of courier service providers were told to follow the SOPs when handling pharmaceutical products and inform the department regarding suspicious consignments.

State drugs controller Lotika Khajuria said illegal flow of habit-forming drugs supplied from other states, either manufacturing states or consumer states have emerged as a “big challenge”.

The department has issued strict instructions that the purchase, sale and distribution of certain habit-forming drugs could not be done without a written order of the purchaser.

The trade fraternity has once again been impressed upon not to procure lesser-known brands of such drugs directly from outside the Union Territory, Khajuria said.

Deputy Drugs Controller, Jammu, M I Palla said the administration has constituted committees to keep a check on trafficking of habit-forming drugs so that the public at large could be safeguarded from intoxication.

The field functionaries have been directed to keep strict vigil on movement of such drugs and checks are being conducted randomly in this perspective, he said. (PTI)