Mumbai: 62-year-old held by Customs for trying to smuggle Tramadol to USA

The Airport Special Cargo Commissionerate of the Customs department has recently arrested a 62-year old man for allegedly trying to export Tramadol tablets to the United States of America (USA). The agency officials had previously seized a consignment having 848 strips of Tramadol.

According to the Customs sources, on June 06, this year, one export consignment of foreign post having tracking number EM020517403IN was examined on the basis of suspicion that arised out of screening. The screening of consignment resulted in the recovery of 848 strips (each strip contains 10 tablets) of Tramadol Hydrochloride Tablets Ol-Tram Tablets 100mg. The cost of seized tablets is around Rs 5 lakh.

"The Tramadol was declared as psychotropic substance and its small and commercial quantity were notified in a gazette notification dated 26.04.2018, therefore, the illicit production, manufacture, possession, transportation, import and export inter-state, sale, purchase, use, consumption, storage, distribution, disposal or acquisition of which is prohibited under Section 8(c) of the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act. It is a scheduled 'H' drug under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and can only be dispensed under the prescription of a registered medical practitioner.," said a Custom officer.

A custom source, privy to the investigation stated that during the course of investigation, a 62-year-old man was apprehended from Kurla and was subsequently arrested for his role in the attempted export of Tramadol. Further, investigation in the matter is in progress. "We are probing from where the accused had procured Tramadol and who was supposed to receive it in the USA. We are also probing if the accused had been involved in illegal export of Tramadol in the past," the official said.

According to a UN report, “Tramadol” tablets are widely used by the various terrorist organizations like Boko Haram in West & Central Africa as the pain killer to boost their fighting skill and “Tramadol” is mostly imported from South Asia.

In April this year, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officials had seized a shipment of 508 grams Tramadol which was destined to be smuggled to the USA through air courier. The said contraband was concealed in thread-wheels in which cavities were made to hide the contraband. The consignment had originated from Andheri and was destined to be sent to the USA.