The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested a medical store owner in Amritsar for allegedly selling prohibited drugs illegally. The agency recovered approximately 1,000 intoxicant tablets during a raid on his shop.
Details of the Arrest
The accused has been identified as Deepak Kumar, who operated Rai Medical Store in the Naraingarh area of Chheharta. He was produced before a court on Saturday and remanded to two days of police custody for further interrogation.
Based on his disclosures, the NCB also arrested one of his alleged accomplices. However, the identity of the second accused has been withheld due to the ongoing investigation.
Concerns Raised
The case has raised several concerns, as the accused was allegedly running the medical store without a valid licence and had failed to maintain records of sales and purchases. Apart from tramadol tablets, the NCB team also recovered a large quantity of pregabalin tablets and informed the Drug Department about the seizure.
Following the recovery, the NCB registered a case against the accused under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Customer Base
According to NCB sources, students from several colleges, including Guru Nanak Dev University, were among his customers and allegedly procured intoxicant tablets from him. They were questioned by the agency, though their statements were not formally recorded.
“He had concealed the prohibited drugs in a specially created cavity beneath the floor under a refrigerator,” an NCB official said. A large stock of expired medicines was also recovered from the premises, following which the medical store was sealed.
Investigation
An NCB officer said the agency had been receiving information for some time regarding the illegal sale of habit-forming drugs with intoxicating effects in Chheharta and adjoining areas. Acting on specific inputs, the agency conducted a raid and detained the store owner.
The NCB has also sought records of the pharmacy’s transactions and stock registers for the past three years. However, the accused allegedly failed to produce the required documents before investigators.
The agency is now examining whether other medical stores in the area are involved in similar illegal activities.
