Chennai wholesale pharma dealer arrested for sending medicines to US without licence

CHENNAI: Chennai air customs has arrested a wholesale pharma dealer for sending medicines falling under schedules X and H of the Drug and Cosmetic Rule, 1945 to Florida in the US.
Licence is required for exporting medicines that fall under schedules X and H of the Drug and Cosmetic Rule. These drugs cannot be purchased over the counter without the prescription of a qualified doctor.
Customs said based on intelligence, they intercepted some postal parcels -- suspected to contain psychotropic drugs which were destined to the US -- at the foreign post office.
When these were opened, 234 strips of Addwize 10mg (Methylphenidate), 50 strips of Lonazep 1 mg (Clonazepam) and 40 strips of Zolfresh 10 mg (Zolpidem) were recovered.
Totally, 2,340 tablets of Methylphenidate, 600 tablets of Zolpidem and 500 tablets of Clonazepam were recovered from these parcels.
The prices of these medicines are very high in the US compared to those in India, a customs official said.
These drugs are psychotropic substances and covered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, too.
A total of 3,440 tablets of psychotropic drugs were seized under the NDPS Act.
Methylphenidate is a central nervous system stimulant and used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and narcolepsy. Zolpidem is a sedative, also called a hypnotic and is used to treat insomnia. Clonazepam, a type of anti-epileptic drug, is used to treat certain seizure disorders.
The parcels were destined were booked by a Chennai- based wholesale pharmaceutical business dealer. Follow up searches were carried out, and the dealer was arrested.