‘Not a single prescription’: How pharma firms are ‘moving’ codeine cough syrup to Bengal border districts

A pharmaceutical firm based in Panipat, Haryana, transferred medicines worth Rs 64 crore to West Bengal between April 1 and September 18 this year. However, the investigation reveals that Rs 44 crore, approximately 65 percent of the company's revenue, originated from the sale of codeine-based cough syrups. Notably, investigators have not found any prescriptions supporting these high sales volumes.

This discovery has prompted the West Bengal Police to scrutinize three pharmaceutical companies amid allegations of an illicit narcotics trafficking network in Dakshin Dinajpur district. Suspicions point to the diversion of codeine-based cough syrups, manufactured in Himachal Pradesh, through licensed distributors and stockists to reach border districts and possibly Bangladesh.

Recently, two lakh bottles of the syrup were seized in Balurghat, destroyed, and 65 individuals arrested, with 44 cases registered since June. Police Superintendent Abhishek Gupta expressed concern over the scale of sales, questioning the intended use of these medicines. He stated that nearly all Rs 64 crore generated by the company came from codeine-based syrup sales.

The probe is investigating the involvement of manufacturers, C&F agents, licensed wholesalers, and other intermediaries. The trade in codeine-based cough syrups moves from licensed channels to illegal markets via a series of intermediaries. A company supplies the product to a C&F agent who receives a 4 percent commission before transferring stock to licensed dealers.

Some licensed dealers allegedly store or sell the stock illegally. While the Drugs and Cosmetics Act requires dealers to hold licences, investigators suspect that the stock is diverted beyond the regulated supply chain. The police are examining financial transactions, including cash deposits made in border districts to avoid bank scrutiny and electronic transfers to pharmaceutical companies.

These methods help conceal the diversion of products. The police also suspect that around 99 percent of the stock is smuggled to Bangladesh, with only one percent used locally for supply chain involvement. Following the seizure of illicit cough syrup in Balurghat, Laborate Pharmaceuticals India Ltd pledged cooperation with authorities and recalled its inventory.

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari pledged zero-tolerance to drug trafficking, praising police efforts.