Seized drugs being put into immediate use

HYDERABAD:  Learning lessons from the past, the Telangana police are now accompanied by the Drug Inspectors while catching gangs selling drugs used for Covid-19 treatment illegally. At a time when the entire State is facing a shortage of supplies for Covid-19 treatment, this ensures that the pharmaceutical drugs are brought into use immediately. 

Last year, while drugs were seized, due to the lack of coordination and proper storage facility, they went to waste. At present, whenever police, especially specialised teams like Task Force and Special Operations Teams get a tip-off about these gangs, they immediately alert the Drug Inspectors concerned and along with them arrest the offenders. 

In their presence, the drugs are seized and a seizure panchnama is drawn. Then, the seized drugs are handed over to the government hospital in the area. The drugs are immediately brought into use for the Covid-19 patients undergoing treatment in the respective hospitals.“The entire process, from the seizure to the handing over of the drugs to the hospital, is documented and videographed. The videographic evidence is produced in the court as evidence against the accused. Since hospitals have storage facilities, the drugs last longer, avoiding the wastage of many life-saving drugs,” a senior police official said.

The spike in cases of blackmarketing of pharmaceutical drugs has been reported from March 2021. 
With the increase in demand for emergency drugs, the police nabbed many offenders. However, the problem of proper storage stayed. 

However, after much consultation and a series of meetings with the Drug Control Administration and the Health Department, the police started cracking a whip against these gangs from the third week of April. 
Since then, more than 10 cases of blackmarketing Remdesivir has been registered in the tri-commissionerates in the city and also in Warangal and Karimnagar.