The Baddi-Barotiwala industrial belt in Himachal Pradesh, one of Asia’s biggest pharmaceutical hubs, has been under a cloud following allegations that a few pharma firms are involved in illegal drug rackets. Police from neighbouring Punjab raided units at Paonta Sahib and Kala Amb in Sirmaur district, leading to some arrests and the recovery of 30 lakh capsules of pharma opioids valued at Rs 15 crore. The raiding team found that tramadol, an opioid painkiller, manufactured by Orison Pharma was being marketed by Mumbai-based PP Pharma, which existed only on paper. Himachal Police also swung into action and raided more units at Paonta Sahib and Kala Amb. According to DGP Sanjay Kundu, the companies have been using fake names to market their drugs, mainly tramadol.
The trail leading to these revelations began with the seizure of around 50,000 tramadol capsules in Punjab, and led the police to a pharma unit in Himachal. The CBI’s Interpol division provided inputs about another firm at Paonta Sahib—Laborate Pharmaceuticals—that has been accused of illegally exporting 1.75 crore tramadol tablets to Chad. Himachal Police charged another Baddi-based firm—Magnatek Enterprises—in June under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act when it failed to provide records of etizolam salt. According to the police, the management failed to produce records of agreements with two marketing firms—Try Bird Healthcare Pvt Ltd, Zirakpur, and J.S. Chemical, Mumbai.
Rajesh Gupta of the Himachal Drug Manufacturers Association accuses Punjab Police of being “unfair” to the pharmaceutical industry in Himachal. “Most pharma companies are working under great pressure to meet the huge demand for emergency drugs for Covid and other life-threatening diseases. If Punjab Police raid our units and arrest our people, it amounts to harassment,” he says, adding that any violations can be investigated by Himachal’s drug licensing authority.
Pharma units in the industrial belts of Solan, Sirmaur and Kangra districts have long been suspected of involvement in illegal drug trade. In 2019, Apple Field pharma company at Paonta Sahib was shut down by Himachal Police’s narcotics cell over an unaccounted for stock of 47,000 tramadol tablets and 10,000 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup. Of the total 700-odd pharma companies, including multinationals, around 135 have valid licences to manufacture psychotropic drugs. Police blame a weak regulatory mechanism for enabling raw material accessed under valid licences to be used for manufacturing drugs that enter the illegal market through fake marketing firms. State drug controller Navneet Marwah, however, dismisses the allegation, saying multi-tier checks and curbs are in place to prevent the pilferage of drugs for misuse as intoxicants. “We have taken action against erring companies, stopping some from manufacturing certain drugs and cancelling their licences. Manufacture of four drugs—pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, diphenoxylate and buprenorphine—has been banned since September 2016,” he says. A joint task force has been set up for inspecting manufacturers and enforcing regulations.
Following an amendment in the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules that took effect on March 1, a marketing firm has to enter into an agreement with a manufacturer for the sale and distribution of its drugs, and both parties are responsible for regulatory compliance. Marwah says a team of officials is probing all the firms to see if the new amendment was being adhered to. Among the cases being investigated by the state’s drug licensing authority, there are 10 in which the companies were ordered to stop manufacturing, two where the stocks have been frozen, and six where notices have been served to produce records relating to manufacturing and supply within the state and outside.
(This appeared in the print edition as "Toxic Tangle")
By Ashwani Sharma in Shimla
