Three held with psychotropic drugs worth Rs 1.20 crore

Surat: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized a consignment of tramadol hydrochloride tablets, declared as psychotropic substance, valued at Rs 1.20 crore, from Hazira port and arrested three persons on Wednesday.
Acting on specific information, the DRI sleuths raided the port and seized two containers consisting of about 15 lakh tramadol hydrochloride tablets of 225 mg being exported to Guna in Africa.
Three persons from two healthcare companies involved in manufacturing and distribution of the tablets were arrested and taken to the New Civil Hospital (NCH) for the Covid-19 test in the evening. The accused have been identified as Harshal Desai, Mehul Desai and Shameshwar Patil—all residents of Surat.
Official sources said that the tablets were manufactured in Patil’s unit located in Mangrol in Surat district. Earlier too, these three were arrested for illegally exporting about 45 lakh tramadol tablets valued at Rs 3.60 crore to an African country few years ago.
Sources said that the trio was arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (NDPS) Act and they will be produced in the court on Thursday.
On April 26, 2018, department of revenue, ministry of finance, through its notification had declared tramadol as a psychotropic substance to control its abuse and misuse. As a result, the sale and distribution of tramadol is under the supervision and control of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).