Islamabad:
Pakistani authorities have seized a huge amount of smuggled Indian origin tramadol, a very addictive substance worth RS10 billion that suspects the involvement of a cross-border smuggling network.
The Collectorate of Customs Enforcement Karachi seized the smuggled high dose drug, according to the customs officials interested in the details of the operation performed on February 20.
Tramadol is regulated by the drug -regulating authority in Pakistan (Drap) and is a high dosage very addictive opioid, the laboratory report has confirmed.
The drug can be purchased in Pakistan on Doctoar’s prescription. But two weeks ago, Drap had considered a proposal to declare it as a “controlled substance” under the control of the Narcotics Substance Act of 1997 to limit its use as an opioid addictive substance.
The Pakistan Teaching has declared the seizure as one of the largest pharmaceutical operations, recovering 21.8 million tablets and 7,000 capsules of unregistered tramadol. The custom officials said it could be the biggest ever seizure in South Asia.
The restored amount requires a large container for transport. Last year, the Mumbai Teaching Service seized 6.8 million tablets worth Indian RS1.1 billion. The opioid is not widely used in Pakistan and its largest markets are in the Middle East and Africa. However, the authorities have fears that the drug can be used by anti-state elements as its consumers can stay awake for hours.
The customs officials said the estimated market value of the drugs is RS10 billion. Collector Customs Moinuddin Ahmad Wanis Team conducted the operation on February 20 in Karachi.
The preliminary studies revealed that some of the smuggled drugs were also wrongly enclosed as vaccines. The customs officials found some packaging material from the RAID site that bears the brand for ‘Extended Program on Immunization’. The authorities suspected that some of the drugs might have been smuggled under the garbic of the vaccine immunization program due to the possibility of involving the clearing agents.
The seized fabrics were packed in cartons, many of which were marked, indicating their origin from India. A detailed study revealed several variants with high dosage of tramadol, including tamral, royal, tramaking yellow 225 mg, tramaking black 225 mg and 250 mg and new tramadol.
The absence of drap registration numbers on the seized products suggests that they were either illegally imported or locally manufactured by smuggling active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), according to the authorities.
A four has been filed and litigation has been initiated against those involved in smuggling the seized drugs. The Customs Service has so far tracked a chemist and a pharmaceutical company that may have been part of the cross-border smuggling network.
The goods were taken into custody under the Customs Act, 1969, and a notice has been issued in accordance with section 171. In addition, the stock guard was arrested under the raid and further arrests are expected as the investigation continues, the authorities said.
The Collectorate of Customs Enforcement said it dismantled the network involved in the illegal trade in unregistered and dangerous drugs. The raid had been carried out in an abandoned warehouse in Korangi Industrial Area during the night of 20 and 21 February.
The officials said the samples of the seized consignment were sent to the Central Drug Laboratory (CDL) for testing, confirming the presence of API, Tramadol -Hydrochloride.
The development also came on the heels to blow up a smuggling network of an intelligence agency a few weeks ago, which included 78 customs officials and smugglers, rawalpindi.
